GAA plan China hurling link-up

The GAA is to initiate a training programme for Chinese students, with the intention of producing hurling coaches for the School of Physical Education and Coaching at Shanghai’s University of Sport.

GAA president Liam O’Neill addressed an audience of students from the school yesterday telling them the association looked forward “to forging links between Ireland and this wonderful sporting university”.

The students were also treated to a presentation on the history of the GAA by Pat Daly, the GAA’s Director of Games Development and Research. Daly said: “We’re proposing to bring some students from Shanghai University of Sport to Ireland and in addition to them studying English, they’ll learn to coach hurling. The intention is they’ll come back and work with the 1,000 students in the sports training course at the University here to promote hurling. The traditional club model tends to be socially based and centred on the Irish community so it would be virtually impossible to expect them to take on the development of sport in the same way it happens back home.