Up to the players now in Kerry closed season row

A proposal to give Kerry senior stars a four-to-six week guaranteed closed season was rejected by the Kingdom's clubs

Joe Costello headed up a sub-committee whose proposal was to give members of Jack O’Connor’s squad a four to six-week closed season. That was rejected by clubs, 52 votes to 28. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Kerry GAA coaching officer Joe Costello trusts that the county’s inter-county footballers’ wishes around participation in the divisional championships will be respected.

Costello headed up a sub-committee whose proposal was to give members of Jack O’Connor’s squad a four to six-week closed season. That was rejected by clubs, 52 votes to 28.

The St Pat’s, Blennerville man expressed disappointment that the break wasn’t supported but fully accepted the will of the clubs, some of whom dismissed the attempt to enshrine player welfare as “a player ownership grab”.

Highlighting “a significant amount of work” that went into the divisional championships report, Costello said it is up to inter-county footballers to decide whether they want to play for their clubs in the divisional championships.

A Gaelic Players Association survey of the inter-county squad found 92% wanted November as a no-contact month. It is known that a number of players don’t intend to play in the competitions, which commence later this month.

“Look, I think the way it is now is that each player will make up their own minds,” said Costello. “I just hope that whatever decisions each individual player makes, that they're respected by their clubs. I think that's important.

“There's no ownership of any player in the GAA and long may that continue. Yes, they are created by the clubs and every player, every young guy in Kerry, growing up wants to be part of the Kerry seniors.

“I'm sure for some of them it may be a difficult decision but all I hope and wish is that whatever decision each player makes is fully respected by all the stakeholders involved, their clubs, their district boards and the county.” 

A number of the county’s leading players are expected to sit out the divisional championships. Costello highlighted the pressure the split season has put on a county like Kerry where games have to be shoehorned into the latter part of the year.

Along with Costello, Kerry defender Paul Murphy, Mid Kerry chairman Mike Sayers, the county’s head of high performance and former Kingdom footballer Noel Kennelly were on the body.

Kerry defender Paul Murphy was also on the body. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Costello was delighted the committee’s proposals around the staging of the divisional competitions were supported by delegates. “I'm an officer of the county board and I fully respect the decision of the county committee. They essentially are the decision-makers in Kerry on our policies.

“Look, I am happy that the recommendations around the district championships structures. were passed with a very large majority. Essentially, those recommendations were putting into Kerry GAA policy a lot of the work the district boards are doing, which is playing off their championships in a timely manner at the end of the club window.

“It would be unfair if I said that I wasn't disappointed that the recommendations around the Kerry senior players' participation in the district championships weren't passed.

“The review committee felt that it was a fair method of just providing a means of rest for players in exceptional circumstances that have experienced a significant load during the inter-county and club season or have picked up an injury that requires rehab and rest. All players have struggled from burnout because it is a long season for inter-county players around the country.

“It was an extremely well-debated presentation. We have three championships in Kerry. Each of them is important in its own right.

"However, the split season is favoured heavily in terms of the inter-county window. We have to operate within the club window, in the CCC (competitions control committee) in Kerry.

“We are currently getting the games programmes played, but it is pretty taxing. It's fairly relentless, particularly for Kerry senior players that are from junior and intermediate clubs that have to play in their club championships and then represent their district in the county championships and then their clubs in their local division or district championships.” 

Costello hopes the competition structures can be reviewed again. “It’s something the new executive may look at. It's also something that the clubs may look at.

“Our next county committee meeting deals with motions from clubs in relation to competitions and fixtures for the following season. I'd be hopeful that some clubs will put some serious thought into our games programme and come up with some good suggestions that maybe the CCC can review and maybe help alleviate the problems that we have.”