McGeeney welcomes GAA/GPA deal

Armagh footballer Kieran McGeeney said today that that last week's joint announcement by the GAA and GPA in relation to player grants is not a step towards professionalism.

The player said the move will rather help to secure the status of the GAA as an amateur organisation.

McGeeney spoke today of his love for Gaelic football and explained that he is not playing the sport to make money from it.

“I play Gaelic football because I love the sport and for no other reason,” McGeeney stated.

“What other reason is there to play it, if you don’t love it you will get nothing else out of it and for me that’s it. I love playing, I love tackling and I love making blocks.

“I get a real buzz out of it and as long I keep getting a buzz out of it I will want to play it whether it is at club or county.

“The whole point of playing Gaelic football is to enjoy it.”

The joint GAA-GPA grant scheme, which will be funded by Government money, will aim to assist inter-county players in fulfilling their potential while also safeguarding the GAA’s amateur ethos.

The Na Fianna clubman accepts that the grant will help players compete at the top level.

“I know it’s a choice and it’s my choice that I want to play it but it still doesn’t mean that I don’t want to compete at as high a level as I possibly can.

“I want the same opportunities to train like Brian O’Driscoll has, to see how far I can go or the likes of Ciaran Toner or Aaron Kernan can go and I think it is possible to do that.”

McGeeney believes that the grants will help alleviate extra burdens on players especially those with families.

“It’s par for the course and this is no more than a college grant, those are the levels we are talking about here. This isn’t somebody who will go out at the weekend and buy a new Porsche from it.

“The figure is an amount which would barely take you on holiday at the end of the year.

“Nobody out there would begrudge a player for this especially if he has a wife and family.”