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Replying To ElGranSenor: "Some of the kit allowances are too much though IMO, can understand them being entitled to a pair of shorts, socks, a jersey at the end of the year, then maybe a tracksuit bottom, a half-zip, and a top so they're all wearing the same gear going to games but anything beyond that isn't essential IMO
Stuff like GPS tracking definitely isn't necessary though, I suppose this is the sort of stuff Pat Gilroy was on about recently" GPS trackers are a once off, not a recurring expense. And I dont think alot of players get much more than you have outlined there, along with meals and fuel allowances.
Meals and Medical costs are actually the 2 biggest expenses apparently.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20705 - 11/09/2026 15:12:58
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Replying To Pikeman96: "Well, before anyone decides whether the male players get too much gear or not, let's have a look at all the things the GPA charter says they should get. Somebody who's called into the pre-season training squad and who stays with the panel through the League and into the championship is supposed to get all this gear, at three different stages during the season:
Six assorted training tops/t shirts, six pairs of shorts, at least six pairs of socks, two "wet tops", two "wet bottoms", a windcheater, a tracksuit bottom, a jacket or gilet, a kit bag, and up to three pairs of footwear (runners or boots) of up to €125 each. In addition, football goalkeepers are allowed two pairs of gloves of up to €80 each.
And then they'd get the same the year after, and the year after, and every year for as long as they're still in the squad.
Personally, this is one area where I wouldn't mind seeing some cutbacks in order to better support female players by giving them some of that gear instead." Im not sure every county can afford all that stuff?
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20705 - 11/09/2026 15:14:01
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Replying To Pikeman96: "Well, before anyone decides whether the male players get too much gear or not, let's have a look at all the things the GPA charter says they should get. Somebody who's called into the pre-season training squad and who stays with the panel through the League and into the championship is supposed to get all this gear, at three different stages during the season:
Six assorted training tops/t shirts, six pairs of shorts, at least six pairs of socks, two "wet tops", two "wet bottoms", a windcheater, a tracksuit bottom, a jacket or gilet, a kit bag, and up to three pairs of footwear (runners or boots) of up to €125 each. In addition, football goalkeepers are allowed two pairs of gloves of up to €80 each.
And then they'd get the same the year after, and the year after, and every year for as long as they're still in the squad.
Personally, this is one area where I wouldn't mind seeing some cutbacks in order to better support female players by giving them some of that gear instead." If the GPA were serious about looking after players they might be better off ensuring that players have a life while playing county football instead of all that gear which is just a distraction who on earth woukd get time to even wear all of that gear..Six pairs of shorts?? Six training tops?? Come on GPA you can do much better.
Dothesimplethingswell (Sligo) - Posts: 132 - 11/09/2026 23:11:57
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Replying To Dothesimplethingswell: "If the GPA were serious about looking after players they might be better off ensuring that players have a life while playing county football instead of all that gear which is just a distraction who on earth woukd get time to even wear all of that gear..Six pairs of shorts?? Six training tops?? Come on GPA you can do much better." There's a fine line between having a life and taking the whole thing seriously. I'm sure you'd agree that you wouldn't want to see lads with beer bellies or lads who couldn't run 100 yards playing county football. Nor can you stop lads from doing any amount of extra training if they want. We all seen what happened during Covid... teams trained 'allegedly' in secret despite being told to curtail group sessions. Not sure what the solution is but people might not be half as eager if the back room expenses industry was curtailed.
Square_B (Leitrim) - Posts: 2450 - 12/09/2026 10:39:44
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Replying To Square_B: "There's a fine line between having a life and taking the whole thing seriously. I'm sure you'd agree that you wouldn't want to see lads with beer bellies or lads who couldn't run 100 yards playing county football. Nor can you stop lads from doing any amount of extra training if they want. We all seen what happened during Covid... teams trained 'allegedly' in secret despite being told to curtail group sessions. Not sure what the solution is but people might not be half as eager if the back room expenses industry was curtailed." Your 100%...The days of lads playing with beer are a distant memory even for club players but we are gone polar opposites now. You hit the nail on the head with the backroom expenses...It is this unsatiable appetite for s&c, data, diet, tracking, video analysis, etc etc. Ive seen first hand what players are given in terms of personalised shakes, caffeine pills and other. How well this is regulated if even is an unknown . The GAA cannot keep up with this out of control train. But getting back to the backroom team well they drive the show..Isn't it in their financial interest to have lads either on the field or in the gym 4-5 nights a week or watching video playback etc. etc. Clubs and county boards are crippled with these costs. Its simply unsustainable and its wringing out players who are retiring earlier and earlier. Bulked up players who were forced to play chess for years are no longer useful in the new rules. Catch and kicking is back, running is back, kicking into space is back and good old one to one defending is back..Its a simple and beautiful game where a bit of fitness and skill will go a long way.
Dothesimplethingswell (Sligo) - Posts: 132 - 12/09/2026 19:18:55
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Couple of things doing the rounds on social media this weekend that got my goat a bit -
First was that video from Mayo showing how an LGFA Junior A group match that had to be played at a neutral venue was assigned to that venue's secondary pitch rather than the main one. Complaints of "inequality", "fobbed off", and being left with the "crumbs".
Didn't seem to occur to the complainant that there's every chance that if a men's Junior A group match had been fixed there as a neutral venue, there's every chance that the host club would have allocated the secondary pitch to it as well.
Second was that statement from Louth where there were complaints over players with certain teams being fixed to play important matches in both camogie and ladies football on the same day.
They were completely correct and justified in those complaints but they were wrong in claiming this shows why integration is "needed". All that's needed there is greater cooperation between Louth Camogie Association and Louth LGFA.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 4052 - 13/09/2026 19:17:28
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Black Ferns, cost the governing body NZ$11m. This is interesting for anyone wondering how other sports deal with funding the ladies game. New Zealand rugby is expected to make losses of 6m plus each year even with a lion tour over the next 5 years. All the profits from playing south Africa in America last weekend will be wiped out by losses from the black ferns. With very little demand for seats at games or streaming services the new Zealand women's game is lossing millions each year and it's dragging the overall health of the organisation into the black hole as the men's game starts to struggle with income.
Kew (Galway) - Posts: 426 - 18/09/2026 08:06:06
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Replying To Kew: "Black Ferns, cost the governing body NZ$11m. This is interesting for anyone wondering how other sports deal with funding the ladies game. New Zealand rugby is expected to make losses of 6m plus each year even with a lion tour over the next 5 years. All the profits from playing south Africa in America last weekend will be wiped out by losses from the black ferns. With very little demand for seats at games or streaming services the new Zealand women's game is lossing millions each year and it's dragging the overall health of the organisation into the black hole as the men's game starts to struggle with income." It isn't interesting. It's comparing GAA, LGFA, Camogie with a completely different sport in a different country with a different structure where the men's game is the biggest brand in professional rugby.
GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8764 - 18/09/2026 14:52:06
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Replying To GreenandRed: "It isn't interesting. It's comparing GAA, LGFA, Camogie with a completely different sport in a different country with a different structure where the men's game is the biggest brand in professional rugby." I'd contend that while it's different, it's still relevant.
It's a financial fact and not a sexist statement to say that in just about every sporting organisation that treats women equally (or as equally as possible) to men, the women's game is largely funded from resources generated by the men's. How to manage that in a unified Association is the single biggest challenge facing integration.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 4052 - 18/09/2026 15:52:03
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Replying To Pikeman96: "I'd contend that while it's different, it's still relevant.
It's a financial fact and not a sexist statement to say that in just about every sporting organisation that treats women equally (or as equally as possible) to men, the women's game is largely funded from resources generated by the men's. How to manage that in a unified Association is the single biggest challenge facing integration." Getting the CA and LGFA to agree with eachother might be just as challenging.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20705 - 18/09/2026 16:43:10
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Replying To Pikeman96: "I'd contend that while it's different, it's still relevant.
It's a financial fact and not a sexist statement to say that in just about every sporting organisation that treats women equally (or as equally as possible) to men, the women's game is largely funded from resources generated by the men's. How to manage that in a unified Association is the single biggest challenge facing integration." How is one professional international women's rugby team relevant when we're talking about two amateur sports with no international team for either in another country?
GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8764 - 18/09/2026 17:09:30
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Replying To Kew: "Black Ferns, cost the governing body NZ$11m. This is interesting for anyone wondering how other sports deal with funding the ladies game. New Zealand rugby is expected to make losses of 6m plus each year even with a lion tour over the next 5 years. All the profits from playing south Africa in America last weekend will be wiped out by losses from the black ferns. With very little demand for seats at games or streaming services the new Zealand women's game is lossing millions each year and it's dragging the overall health of the organisation into the black hole as the men's game starts to struggle with income." Men's sports broadcasting has operated as a "loss leader" for tv stations and streamers ie they pay massive broadcast rights at big fees at an upfront financial loss to secure massive, loyal audiences that drive value over time. This audience is then monetized through subscriptions, streaming sign-ups, and broader brand advertising.
In contrast, women's sports coverage has historically faced an underfunding loop, where a lack of broadcast media visibility has been justified by lower immediate advertising revenues. this has changed as media coverage of sport and how sports coverage is funded has changed
its better long term to fund the womens game as you will over time do better financially but you will take hit earlier on...
KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 4013 - 18/09/2026 20:04:02
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Read through all the posts in one go. I agree with Pikeman views as he has expressed them on this thread, though Im gonna say something now deadly seriously though with a degree of mischieviousness that he all posters will abhor.
The bottom line is, at inter-county level, the women want the same financial benefits and other conditions as the men.
There IS a solution. Change the role and function of the Croke Park stadium from its current primary one as the place where major GAA games are played (with profitable rock and pop concerts, rugby and other events taking place as a secondary consideration) into one where the playing pitch is used only 4 times per year for GAA games (i.e. All Ireland football and hurling finals , the camogie final, and the ladies football final.) Outside of that, promote it as a purely commercial revenue-generating venue. Let the Croke Park venue become a fully fledged cash cow......have MORE concerts in it, MORE rugby, MORE American football, and other international events take place there.Let this be the main function of the stadium for 11 months of the year (and market it heavily as such) and just close it off to this activities for the month of July only to place the 4 finals. The extra money earned with finance the women's games and enablecthe GAA to pay the elite female players the same benefits as their male counterparts.
Problem solved.
PoolSturgeon (Galway) - Posts: 2155 - 18/09/2026 22:32:04
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Replying To PoolSturgeon: "Read through all the posts in one go. I agree with Pikeman views as he has expressed them on this thread, though Im gonna say something now deadly seriously though with a degree of mischieviousness that he all posters will abhor.
The bottom line is, at inter-county level, the women want the same financial benefits and other conditions as the men.
There IS a solution. Change the role and function of the Croke Park stadium from its current primary one as the place where major GAA games are played (with profitable rock and pop concerts, rugby and other events taking place as a secondary consideration) into one where the playing pitch is used only 4 times per year for GAA games (i.e. All Ireland football and hurling finals , the camogie final, and the ladies football final.) Outside of that, promote it as a purely commercial revenue-generating venue. Let the Croke Park venue become a fully fledged cash cow......have MORE concerts in it, MORE rugby, MORE American football, and other international events take place there.Let this be the main function of the stadium for 11 months of the year (and market it heavily as such) and just close it off to this activities for the month of July only to place the 4 finals. The extra money earned with finance the women's games and enablecthe GAA to pay the elite female players the same benefits as their male counterparts.
Problem solved." The residents wouldn't let it happen. There are plenty restrictions as it is, so I'd say it's fairly maximised already under those terms.
There's only a handful of other sports games which would even need the stadium, so not much extra to be gained there either.
WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 3064 - 19/09/2026 16:15:46
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Replying To PoolSturgeon: "Read through all the posts in one go. I agree with Pikeman views as he has expressed them on this thread, though Im gonna say something now deadly seriously though with a degree of mischieviousness that he all posters will abhor.
The bottom line is, at inter-county level, the women want the same financial benefits and other conditions as the men.
There IS a solution. Change the role and function of the Croke Park stadium from its current primary one as the place where major GAA games are played (with profitable rock and pop concerts, rugby and other events taking place as a secondary consideration) into one where the playing pitch is used only 4 times per year for GAA games (i.e. All Ireland football and hurling finals , the camogie final, and the ladies football final.) Outside of that, promote it as a purely commercial revenue-generating venue. Let the Croke Park venue become a fully fledged cash cow......have MORE concerts in it, MORE rugby, MORE American football, and other international events take place there.Let this be the main function of the stadium for 11 months of the year (and market it heavily as such) and just close it off to this activities for the month of July only to place the 4 finals. The extra money earned with finance the women's games and enablecthe GAA to pay the elite female players the same benefits as their male counterparts.
Problem solved." Croke Park is underutilised as it is without dropping any GAA games & could hold more non GAA events but that doesn't mean there's demand. Of the events that were held there this year, only 2 sold out. And next year, the Harry Styles concerts aren't even sold out. Point being there's only so many events you can hold that will fill the place and with the money involved, promoters need to fill the place.
And what extra money would have been earned if say, the two Men's Semi Finals this year (Sell outs) had been moved to Semple Stadium? Or other games like Donegal v Dublin or Westmeath v Dublin?
Square_B (Leitrim) - Posts: 2450 - 19/09/2026 16:23:57
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