DERRY secretary Danny Scullion has questioned whether the GAA are pursuing the “correct model” in their new deal with the GPA.
In a hard-hitting report, the Oak Leaf official also warned that “people need to be aware of the ramifications” of Páraic Duffy’s proposals for reform of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
Earlier this year, the GAA signed a new five-year agreement with the players’ association worth at least €6.2m per year, which will be see the GPA receive 15 per cent of the association’s overall commercial revenue annually.
The mileage rate for inter-county players will also increase next season from 50 cent per mile to 65 cent, while a new ‘nutrition allowance’ to cover dietary needs will also be paid.
In his annual report to county convention, which takes place next Monday, Ballinascreen clubman Scullion said that the deal is "of concern".
“The recent deal which the GAA has agreed with the GPA is of concern. For the first time, a fixed percentage of GAA commercial income will go directly to the players’ body," he said.
“Added to this is the increase in mileage and additional monies for nutrition. No-one is in any doubt about how important we regard player welfare. However, we have to ask: is this sustainable? And is this the correct model to pursue?
“Ultimately, since we are one association, there is a danger that these increasing costs will come back to counties, and in return, to clubs at a time when these associated costs are already naturally increasing year-on-year.”
Scullion also warned about the dangers of next year’s annual congress giving its backing to Duffy’s proposal to shake-up the race for Sam Maguire.
The proposal seeks to bring the All-Ireland finals forward into August, but includes the introduction of a round-robin system at the quarter-final stage.
The introduction last winter of a games review committee in Derry oversaw the return of the county’s senior football championship to straight knockout, and helped implement a programme that saw the three adult football leagues finished before the championship began.
Concern over what the proposals would do to club league football and Derry’s unwillingness to accept a situation where players only play for their clubs at championship time lead Scullion’s urge for caution.
“The failure of congress 2016 to sufficiently back proposals such as the ending of intercounty replays and the bringing forward of the All-Ireland finals was disappointing,” he said.
“However, the margins around the two thirds majority required mean that it is almost inevitable that these measures will pass at some stage in the near future.
“There is a general perception that condensing the intercounty season will be to the benefit of the club player. However, we need to be careful. The current national fixtures revamp which has been approved by central council and that will appear before congress next February is far from a perfect solution and people need to be aware of the ramifications of it.
“These are matters of detail and should not be subject to sound-bites. It might be a useful exercise for all Ulster competition control committee personnel to come together to discuss the proposals and to share best practice and a common approach.
“Condensing the intercounty season in the manner proposed will help free up more time for county championships. However, we also need to be mindful of our club leagues. Under the current proposal, we estimate that the number of league games for which county players are unavailable will increase.
“There is an almost inherent acceptance at the heart of the proposal that county players should not play in a majority of club league games.
“Although this is the case already in many counties, it is not the case in Derry and we believe it is wrong to go down this route.”
