THE GAA has declined to comment on its decision to charge under-16s into All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifiers for the first time.
Supporters arriving to the first round Qualifier games over the past few weekends have been shocked to find that children are being charged into Qualifier games for the first time.
Traditionally for games under Central Council’s control – which takes in all Championship games outside the provincial structures – children under 16 went free, barring for games in Croke Park, where a €5 charge has been in place for a number of years.
However, the GAA’s Coiste Bainistí passed a motion in January to introduce a tariff on under-16s, which stood at £4 during the first two rounds of Qualifier games.
The move was not publicly announced by the GAA, who made €12.8m in gate receipts from the 2015 All-Ireland Football Championship, an increase of 12 per cent from the 2014 figure of €11.5m.
In total, the Association brought in €26.7m in gate receipts from all competitions in 2015.
Provincial councils have traditionally charged under-16s into seated areas of the ground, as will be the case for this weekend’s two Ulster Championship semi-final replays.
Children will go free into all terraced areas of St. Tiernach’s Park and Kingspan Breffni Park, with a £5 charge for entry to the seated areas of the ground.
When contacted yesterday, a spokesperson for the GAA declined to comment on the decision.
