Louth won’t be flouting training rules - Fitzer
LOUTH GAA chairman Peter Fitzpatrick insists that the county’s senior hurling and football teams will be adhering to the GAA’s inter-county training ban.
Rumours of secret training sessions in various counties have been widespread since the GAA announced it’s return to play roadmap, but for a time it seemed as if no action would be taken against teams found to be flouting the September 14th return date.
The GPA muddied the waters further by demanding that player injury insurance be extended to cover sessions that take place prior to the stipulated re-start date.
However, Croke Park finally announced last week that county’s that fail to adhere to the dates will be hit with stiff penalties and Fitzpatrick is adamant Louth won’t fall foul of the rules.
‘We gave a commitment to clubs that we’d play a full Championship and that they’d have their county players and that’s still the case, they won’t be doing any collective training until September 14th.
‘The way I look at it, there’s no point clearing the way for clubs to get back up and running if the county players aren’t going to available.
‘If nothing else it’s for the welfare of the players because if they come back after three months off and they’re training with their clubs and training with the county team, injuries are inevitable.
‘You have to ease yourself back into it and that’s why we started with two rounds of leagues, so that clubs could gradually ease back up to Championship intensity for mid-August.’
Fitzpatrick revealed that he hadn’t received a ‘single complaint’ from clubs about Louth’s fixture programme, which incorporates a full championship schedule, sandwiched by five league games - two before and three after.
The Championship will run from August 16th until the senior football final on September 27th, but inter-county players who are no longer involved in their respective club Championship will be free to resume training with county teams from September 14th.
With their Division 3 status all but gone, Louth’s first meaningful competitive game is on Halloween weekend when they face Longford in the Leinster Championship, most likely in Croke Park.
Meanwhile, the county board will hold its first non-virtual meeting since lockdown on July 20th in Darver.
At the meeting delegates will be updated on the progress of the new €12m county grounds project.
COVID-19 has led to inevitable delays, but additional money has been borrowed to carry out drainage work on the site at the Inner Relief Road in Dundalk.
A decision on full planning permission is expected in the next three to four weeks, but work won’t be able to start for at least six months as the fill material brought in to raise the site needs time to settle.
Fitzpatrick reveled that after meetings with Croke Park chiefs, Louth will have to raise €4m, with GAA and Government grants making up the balance.
Despite being put back, the two-house draw is on course to raise significant funds, while the county board is also examining the viability of selling 10-year seats and naming rights to the stadium.