Loss of pre-season games not helping players or coffers, says Connacht chair
Connacht chairman Vincent Neary is not convinced player burnout has eased as a result of the decision to axe the pre-season competitions.
In his address to the province’s annual convention in Bekan, Co Mayo on Thursday night, the Mayo man also questioned if there was any financial savings made from the decision to do away with them and delay the resumption of pre-season training to December.
“It was very disappointing to see the suspension of the FBD League and all pre-season competitions for a year,” said Neary. “I am yet to be convinced by some of the arguments for their removal. Player burnout because of the season extension and costs to counties by an earlier start to the season.
“It will be interesting to see if counties make a significant saving because of no preseason competition, and to my knowledge players playing in the early competitions had little impact on burnout.
“The result is that the competitions here in Connacht were a major source of income and if the council are to continue to honour all their commitments, then replacement funding will have to come from somewhere.
“The GAA as an organisation is continually expanding and with this growth comes additional pressures. Full-time staff are constantly under pressure to keep up with their work. More staff are required, which in turn adds additional cost which again needs more income to sustain.”
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