Football

Michéal Briody: The CPA is here to stay

Michéal Briody (right) and Declan Brennan at the official launch of the Club Players' Association at Ballyboden St Enda's, Dublin
Michéal Briody (right) and Declan Brennan at the official launch of the Club Players' Association at Ballyboden St Enda's, Dublin Michéal Briody (right) and Declan Brennan at the official launch of the Club Players' Association at Ballyboden St Enda's, Dublin

CLUB Players’ Association chairman Michéal Briody has said his organisation “perhaps overestimated” the ability of the GAA to tackle the problems facing Gaelic games at club level.

Briody was speaking as the CPA marked 100 days since its official launch in an effort to resolve what it labels the “GAA’s fixtures crisis”.

Since the CPA’s launch, Briody said “the debate on fixtures within the GAA has grown considerably and been, at times, heated and passionate. The CPA has confined itself to one issue: to fix the fixtures”.

The St Brigid’s, county Meath clubman added that, while massive effort was put in to reorganising the All-Ireland SFC with the ‘super eight’ plan, “there has been no attendant fixtures masterplan on the club game in 32 counties”.

“On that issue as GAA members, we are no further along or any the wiser in terms of an official plan. The problems remain and are being addressed in the usual sticking plaster fashion in individual counties whose volunteers are often ill equipped to deal with the problems they face.

“The CPA has continued to engage very positively with GAA management to work towards addressing this issue, in creating a fixtures plan that is based on sound principles. The latest dialogue is taking place this week and discussions are also ongoing with the GPA [Gaelic Players’ Association].

“At these meetings, the CPA will discuss and outline the considerable volume of research and fixtures planning which has been done assiduously in the last 100 days by unpaid volunteers.”

Briody said that over 25,000 GAA members have registered with the Club Players’ Association since their launch and that, of these, over 70 per cent said their biggest priority was an “unchangeable and predictable” fixtures calendar.

“In launching the CPA, we perhaps underestimated the scale of the problem, and overestimated the ability of the GAA to get to grips with the real issues,” he added.

“But 100 days have not been wasted. We have not been officially recognised, yet our work continues. It is not about official recognition, we are all members of the same association trying to make it better. What we disagree on is the way to achieve that.

“The GAA offers competitions that many county teams have little hope of winning. If it is about winning, an individual club player’s best chance of winning in the GAA is with their club. If it is about participation, then the association is failing when it deprives its own players of the opportunity to play, let alone win.”

Briody concluded that the feedback the CPA had received in their first 100 day has convinced them much work remains to be done.