CPA rules out strike action but plans to pressure GAA sponsors

The Club Players Association (CPA) have been mandated by their members to adopt a ‘militant strategy’ in their battle with GAA top brass.

Although the CPA’s national executive has ruled out strike action primarily for logistical reasons, a boycott of sponsors is not beyond the realms of possibility after almost 78% of respondents (1,247 members) in a survey said they would back such a course of action.

It’s understood the CPA will only invoke such a plan should the GAA opt for an All-Ireland senior football championship similar to the current structure ahead of the two other proposals, the flipping of the League into the summer and the four provincial conferences of eight counties.

However the CPA have confirmed they will outline their stance to the GAA’s headline competition backers such as the six associate sponsors of the All-Ireland senior football and hurling championships.

In a press release earlier today, they stated: “We are in the course of contacting major sponsors of the GAA and asking them to support what is right for everyone — not just the few.

“It is the people in the clubs of the country that are the customers of these large sponsors and we are expecting them to bring influence to the corridors of power in Croke Park.”

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, CPA chairman Micheál Briody added:

We have to try something and it’s not a strike. I’ll openly say it won’t be for two reasons — number one, and let’s be honest, it’s nigh on impossible to organise and coordinate.

"And then you might be playing your local rivals, you decide to down tools and they turn up. We’re not going to stop playing but there are other forms of militant action that we will explore further.”

Briody said he wasn’t surprised by the members’ responses to the four-question survey.

Almost 75% reported that they did not prefer the variation of the status quo put forward by the fixtures taskforce review.

“There is a lot of frustration out there and a lot of that would be attributed to the status quo and incremental changes to it are not the solution and that has been proven time and time again.

“Despite some of the positive moves by Croke Park over the last three to five years, they have been outdone by the other changes such as putting in more inter-county games.

“People want change and they see the options put forward as refreshing — flipping the League into the summer or the 4x8 model with the concurrent club weeks in between those championship weeks.”

At last Saturday’s Central Council meeting, it was revealed the Special Congress to debate the three senior football championship proposals would now more likely take place in September rather than April or May as was suggested at their gathering before Christmas.

As less than 10% of CPA members reported they were aware of the fixtures review task-force report being discussed at their own club, the delay is something Briody supports.

“I would welcome that because there has to be wider debate on this and maybe it is now time to have the conversations on other elements of the fixtures review report but so long as clubs are then told to vote on what applies to them.

“My issue with Special Congress, though, is that it’s a loaded deck.

“There aren’t as many county delegates but there is no reduction in the numbers of past presidents, Central Council or management committee.”

He continued: “We’re well aware that not all of those who answered the question are executive members in their clubs. We know they have been distributed to the county secretaries and they have flipped them onto the clubs but I’ve seen a few instances of one-liners being sent out by secretaries stating ‘read this for discussion’. There was no add ons like ‘it’s important that your club get together to go over this’.

“We wrote to (GAA director-general) Tom Ryan last week to make sure all the clubs were aware of the report and mandated to vote on it.

Tom responded the process would be handled in a very open manner and the arrangements would be put into the public domain but my argument after that was the public domain is not where it needs to be at but at club level where there have to be votes on the football championship structures and what they mean for the clubs, as simply as going for option A, B or C.

Close to 80% (79.96%) of respondents said they felt they did not belong and experience “a significant disconnect between grassroots club players and the wider association”.

Criticising the GAA’s “Where We All Belong” marketing campaign, Briody remarked: “The GAA put a lot of money into marketing that concept but if they put all that effort and money into the fixtures review it would have been better spent and people would actually feel as if they belong. But it was very much a marketing spin.

“It’s very damning that only 9% of the respondents feel they are part of an organisation that is inclusive.” In the statement, Briody pointed out recent developments have only underlined the need for fixtures reform.

“Recent evidence of Donegal withdrawing from the McKenna Cup, third level games clashing with U20 and inter-county just further proves the necessity for Central Council and Congress to adopt radical change in regard to redressing the Master Fixtures Schedule.”