Ladies target 40,000 All-Ireland

The Ladies Gaelic Football Association have targeted an attendance of 40,000 for their All-Ireland finals by 2016.

The LGFA’s newly-appointed PR and media manager Derek Kinnevey accepts the figure is an ambitious goal but insists it can be achieved.

He said: “We have our targets set and one of the targets is to have 40,000 at the All-Ireland finals at Croke Park by 2016. That’s very ambitious but something we can achieve. (President) Pat Quill has also spoken about how difficult it can be to get women to support Ladies football and we want to get more women actively supporting and involved in the sport.

“Part of my role is to get as much coverage and attention for the LGFA as possible. Interaction with newspapers such as the Irish Examiner is a huge help to the profile of the game. One of my aims is to get even more coverage.”

Just under 17,000 spectators were present at Croke Park on Sunday as Antrim, Armagh and Cork claimed the junior, intermediate and senior All-Ireland titles.

Kinnevey reflected: “It was a good day for Ladies football and showed the Association in a good light. Viewership figures on TG4 were massive and revealed that 500,000 people tuned in at some stage during the three games.”

The challenge now is for LGFA officials to build on last weekend and Kinnevey wants to see more women taking up the game. He explained: “There’s may be a certain perception with Ladies football that you have to be a very good and tough player to play. But what women see in Croke Park is not what they’re going to be doing when they join a football club. The rules are there to protect the players, with the clean pick up, the tackle and the goalie kicking the ball out from the hand. It’s all designed to make the game faster and more enjoyable.

“At club level, players get their hands on the ball and have a bit of fun with their friends.”

Words: Jackie Cahill