LGFA chief lashes own membership as 'the worst supporters' of ladies football

CEO Helen O’Rourke uses annual report to describe last year’s Kerry-Galway All-Ireland final attendance of 30,340 as a “disappointment” and said “serious consideration” must be given to returning the finals to September

NOT MINCING HER WORDS: LGFA chief executive offcer Helen O'Rourke during the LGFA Annual Congress at The Falls Hotel in Ennistymon, Clare. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

LGFA CEO Helen O’Rourke has described the association’s membership as amongst “the worst supporters” of ladies football.

In her annual report obtained by the Irish Examiner, O’Rourke described last year’s Kerry-Galway All-Ireland final attendance of 30,340 as a “disappointment” and said “serious consideration” must be given to returning the finals to September.

The 2024 final attendance was well down on the crowd of 45,236 that watched Dublin beat Kerry in the previous year’s decider. The smallest ladies football final attendance in 10 years was reflected in the 2024 LGFA accounts which showed a 26% fall in gate receipts.

“Various factors may have come into play and the split season is certainly one of them. With schools not returning until late August, it is difficult to engage with them, whereas it was easier in our previous September date prior to the calendar changes,” O'Rourke stated.

None of the above possible reasons take from the fact that many of our own members are the worst supporters of our game and with a membership of over 200,000 we must continue to try to change mindsets and indifferences that exist in wanting to be in attendance on one of the greatest days in our calendar year.

“The condensed season, which sees all codes active on the same weekends over a short period, will always mean that families must make a financial choice on who they support, and unfortunately female sports will never win this battle.

“Serious consideration must be given to going back to a later date for championship finals, one which would allow players more time with their clubs earlier in the season and help reduce the great divide that is coming apparent between county and club players.

“The Kerry ladies have a core group of supporters who travel the country on an annual basis but it was regrettable that key local men’s fixtures, including a senior hurling championship final, were also scheduled in Kerry on Sunday 4th August.”

 While alluding in her report to the collaboration with the Gaelic Players Association in respect of player expense distribution, O’Rourke wrote that it can be a challenge trying to work positively with the GPA.

“We genuinely believe that having a positive working relationship with the GPA can be beneficial to all but believe me this can be challenging. There must be give and take on both sides and not always the expectation that change lies with the governing body, and GPA demands must always be met.” 

On integration, the CEO said none of the challenges in delivering one Gaelic games family are insurmountable.

Player injury fund

Elsewhere, female inter-county footballers are concerned by a motion going to this weekend’s LGFA Congress which seeks to limit the scope of the player injury fund.

The LGFA management motion is proposing that the injury fund “shall only cover registered members in official matches or official on-pitch training”.

What this means for inter-county players is that they wouldn’t be covered if an injury occurred during a collective gym session or, for example, a collective running session on an athletics track.

Inter-county footballers are struggling to understand why top-brass want to narrow injury cover for players when LGFA accounts for 2024 show there is €2.7m sitting in the association’s injury fund reserve.

Under the injury fund, the LGFA paid out €1.23m in 2024. That figure represented a decrease on the 2023 claims total of €1.44m. Income from injury fund fees amounted to €1.7m in 2024, meaning there was an overall surplus.