Davy Fitzgerald: Offer people hope and open pitches

Wexford manager Davy Fitzgerald: 'Give them that bit of exercise together, the chance to socialise and give their parents the break too'. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Davy Fitzgerald has pleaded for the Government and GAA to offer people hope and open pitches immediately and start inter-county training sooner than April.

The Wexford manager has been a strong advocate of opening GAA grounds and a return to play going back to the first lockdown last spring and is adamant there are more pluses than disadvantages to doing both in the coming weeks.

Fitzgerald was discouraged by the news yesterday inter-county activities may not resume until April at the earliest. Behind it, he believes money is an issue but is calling on authorities to recognise the value of exercise among children in controlled numbers and inter-county to supporters.

“I’m finding it hard to understand what has happened on a couple of points. You take a four or five-acre field and a bunch of U14s. It’s not a classroom. You can’t compare that to an outdoor environment. You don’t have to have contact training, just allow them to do something.

“Give them that bit of exercise together, the chance to socialise and give their parents the break too. If parents want to take their kids down to the local fields to have a few pucks they should be allowed to.

“And I’m just disappointed that we can’t make life a little easier for people and life easier too for the Government by giving people some hope.

You can’t just segregate GAA from rugby and soccer. It might not be professional but I think we’ve shown we can run the three safely.

“If (Covid case) numbers went way back up, I’d say pull it but the way it is now you’re not giving anyone any hope and I think it can be done in a safe environment as has been done before.”

With the weekly average of Covid cases now 100 lower than they were at the resumption of the inter-county season last October, Fitzgerald doesn’t see why the 2021 Allianz Leagues can’t start next month.

“I have met a lot of older people who enjoyed sitting in and having the games to watch in the evenings over the winter. That made a difference. I am totally aware that there are a lot more people involved with the clubs and as the year goes on we’ll get back to the club but it’s safer now to go with inter-county.

“Now there might be a money issue because it obviously takes money to run teams and hopefully the Government will give a small bit of help towards that. If you look at entertainment, there’s rugby and soccer but I think the GAA gives a lot of that too.”