Inter-county GAA players would be supportive of their managers being contracted and remunerated for the work they do, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) chief executive Tom Parsons has suggested.
Parsons was responding to a recent suggestion by the GAA president Jarlath Burns that the Association should be open to debating such contracts and remuneration.
What shape and how far that goes for inter-county managers, or whether they would become full-time, has not been specified but Parsons doesn’t see a barrier with players or a potential trigger for players to be compensated too.
Parsons said the GPA regularly canvasses opinion from its membership on a range of issues and this came up during one of those engagements last year.
“Looking back on the data that we had from last year, we asked that exact question. And to summarise, players are supportive of managers being compensated and believe they already are,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean players want pay-for-play,” he added. “Some tiers of players do need a stronger value proposition with the amount of investment on and off the field for the inter-county game.
“But specifically, we did ask players in our Government grant survey, ‘do you think inter-county managers should be compensated for their time?’ Ninety-two per cent said yes [93pc were in favour of it being open and transparent].”
“The GAA pays 350 coaches, games development officers around the country who do incredible work but they’re professional coaches.
“They work with development squads, inter-county, underage, grassroots, clubs and schools. That’s all positive. So the GAA are already invested in coaches and the games development officer administration. We know it’s already happening.
“The amateur status is important. The GPA is committed to the amateur status and we need to work with the GAA on that.
“The data isn’t giving us any inkling that if we make the apparent payment to managers that may already exist transparent, that that’s going to change the views of players.
“Ultimately, players want that value proposition, that environment where they’re protected from an injury point of view, a welfare point of view, and won’t be out of significant costs for playing.
“We ask players every year, ‘Are you content with the amateur status?’ From our membership, 60pc of players are, some 40pc of players aren’t content but that doesn’t mean they want to go professional.
“The GPA is committed to the amateur status and we need to work with the GAA on that.”
Parsons said the data has been shared with the amateur status committee of which he is a member, a committee set up by Burns at the outset of his presidency.
He also stressed the importance of the upcoming negotiations for a new protocol agreement between the GAA and GPA.
Parsons was also asked about the request from Kerry inter-county footballers not to play for their clubs in the county’s divisional championships this winter.
“The GPA would never tell players not to play for the clubs. But there is a responsibility on the GAA to ensure inter-county players get adequate rest and recovery. That’s something the amateur status committee is looking at, the overall competition load of players and need to look at it in its entirety.”