GAA president Jarlath Burns: Perhaps we need to look at contracts for inter-county managers

'We all know for many, many years that generous expenses have been given to managers and I'm not going to comment on that'

Sun, 13 Oct, 2024 - 19:54

Tony Leen, Sports Editor

GAA president Jarlath Burns has left the door ajar for potential ‘contracts’ for inter-county managers, who, he says, are essentially full time.

The Armagh man accepted that circumstances and the demands of the role have changed irrevocably since the GAA’s amateur status committee last examined the issue 27 years ago. Speaking to RTÉ Radio on Sunday, Mr Burns said: “What does it mean to be a GAA inter-county player in 2024 and what does it mean to be a manager?

"I think there will be a debate on whether we should put managers on contract, because it is nearly a full-time job, the amount of accountability is there. Even when you are winning there can be difficulty listening to criticism.

"I have great sympathy for managers and I take my hat off to them. They don't do it for the money, they do it because they want to be part of something bigger.”

Asked by presenter Marie Crowe to elaborate, the GAA president would not be drawn further, stating: "That is a big philosophical question to answer. I don't have any executive power in the GAA. We all know for many, many years that generous expenses have been given to managers and I'm not going to comment on that and you don't comment on what you don't know.

"Managers are much maligned. They get the blame for everything. People blame managers and coaches for the way Gaelic football is played today. Managers put in an incredible amount of time in thinking and preparing and having to get their teams ready. Sometimes they can have a hostile relationship with the media, particularly local media and that can create its own narrative.”

Mr Burns also declared, from his experience as a school principal, that the days of vying with other sports for the hearts and minds of the next generation is gone. “I can say now we are no longer in opposition with other sports. That’s not the way it works anymore.

Sporting life is now the opposition to the sedentary lifestyle of children, to phones, mobile devices and kids sitting on their beds all day long on TikTok.

"If I can get a child out playing any sport or watching any sport; that is the gateway into participation and to a healthier lifestyle.”

He also conceded that were the GAA and other sports starting from scratch today with stadium development, the country would be sprinkled with municipal facilities in every province, owned by local government and rented out to the sporting organisations.

“Looking around the country we are doing a lot of stadium rebuilding and refurbishment. What was acceptable 20-30 years ago in terms of spectator comfort is no longer acceptable. You go to watch a game and everything from ‘eating to excreting’ has to be as good as a hotel. We don’t come up to scratch a lot of the times on that in the GAA.”

He admitted the GAA could be better at marketing its games, with a new Ticketing and Marketing committee meeting for the first time Monday night.

“Particularly in relation to League games, the model we use can be counter-productive. All monies go back to Croke Park and are redistributed pro-rata at the end of the year. That means there isn’t a huge incentive for the host counties to attract people into their ground.

"If they were responsible for getting people in, and got a bonus for over a particular amount, maybe that would incentivise greater ticket sales. I do agree, we could market games better. Sometimes we make tickets available as opposed to selling them.”

Larry Ryan: Maybe Gaelic football is ready to feel the sandbox under its feet

Burns addressed the a crucial few weeks for Gaelic football with Central Council due to review the FRC’s proposed changes on October 26 and a possible Special Congress on November 30.

"When Jim Gavin and his incredible committee began to look back at the results coming in from the surveys, people said they wanted to see more kicking, catching, more one-to-one competition, and long-range scores.

"That has been their north star really and now it's a case of what we can do to create that.

"Holding three players back is something that will create space because if we want to see good forward play and good scores, forwards need space to operate in and it's the job of the defender to cut down on space.

"2025 is a rule-change year and a year that allows us to experiment. If we are going to do it we have to be very responsible in how we are going to do it; we can't be throwing things in for the sake of it.”