Mayo splash out extra €170,000 on team

The cost of preparing the Mayo senior football team jumped by almost €170,000 last year, it was revealed at the County Board Convention held in Breaffy House Hotel yesterday.

The increase was largely attributable to the team holiday, treasurer JP Lambe told delegates, adding that the trip to Miami last January had cost “in the region” of €156,000. Travelling expenses in 2013 ran to more than €405,000, compared to just under €271,000 in 2012. Catering and medical expenses for the senior football team also rose, while the cost of sports gear was slightly down. That left total expenses for the senior team for 2013 at €646,440, compared to €480,334 last year.

Seán Mac Éil, a former inter-county referee and now secretary of Mayo Bord na nÓg, noted the huge cost of preparing “one team for one year” when he backed a motion calling for extra coaching personnel. He recalled comments made some years ago by RTÉ pundit Colm O’Rourke, who noted on a visit to Mayo that if “a fraction” of what was spent on inter-county teams went on coaching, it would make a big difference.