McGee: Club players abused and neglected as GPA 'couldn't care less'
Club players are being abused and having their needs entirely ignored by the Gaelic Players’ Association (GPA), according to the head of the Football Review Committee.
According to Eugene McGee, an association that represents players not playing inter-county football needs to be established and “would put the fear of God in [the GPA]”.
It is not just players but also the club championships that are being neglected as county boards continue to place an emphasis on the county team and managers of these teams grow in influence.
“The GPA has studiously avoided the mention of club football. They don’t give a second thought about club football. They couldn’t care less about it,” he told the Irish News.
“I think that is disgraceful. It is beyond me how they can stand by and watch what is happening to club championships.
“I don’t know how they were allowed to become so elite that they only really deal with county players. It’s a terrible thing and it’s shameful really. Club players are being abused left, right and centre,” the former All-Ireland winning coach added.
McGee feels that while Donegal have agreed to postpone their club championship until after the county team is finished with Championship action, other teams have done likewise.
“A whole rake of them have done likewise over the last number of years, not just Donegal, Dublin are the same. Last year Dublin just abandoned their championship.
“It meant hundreds of footballers were left with no championship football during most of the summer. From the first of June to October there was no club championship,” he said.
A club championship season that was completed in a calendar year would benefit players, according to the Longford man.
Setting the club All-Ireland finals in December would force the hand of county boards and prevent them from postponing games during the summer, he said.
“It’s a small start but if something isn’t done no county will play club matches until their county is out of the All-Ireland Championship. If this proposal was accepted it would help to really organise club fixtures. The finishing date would be set and that would force the provinces and the counties to comply with that date,” he told the newspaper.
The seven-time Sigerson Cup winning coach isn’t confident that delegates will support the proposal at Central Council on May 24 however; saying the growing influence of county managers will ensure the idea fails to garner the requisite support.
