Player welfare at heart of club versus county deal

GAA chairman welcomes U-20 and Minor fixtures

TIM Murphy says that player welfare is the primary focus of the Kerry GAA County Committee, and that the Committee, the Kerry senior team management and the clubs are happy with the overall arrangement that ensures clubs will have all their players up to September 14 before Kerry resume inter-county training on that date.

Kerry GAA have designed a fixtures calendar that gives clubs exclusive action from July 18 to

October 11 before the inter-county competitions resume the following weekend.

Inter-county training isn’t permitted until September 14, with Kerry then due to play Monaghan and Donegal in their deferred NFL games on October 18/18 and October 24/25, but there is concern in some counties that inter-county managers will cut into the club window and force players back to training and away from their clubs.

Offaly county board chairman Michael Duignan, speaking on

Monday, suggested that some inter-county panels were either already back at collective training or would do so before September 14 but Mr Murphy said his only concern was what Kerry do.

Asked if he would have any concerns that other county squads would jump the gun and resume training before September 14, Mr Murphy said: “We won’t worry about what any other county does. We’re confident in our own skins in what we will do.

“What we’ve done is work with the clubs and assured that every club has access to their players for the (club) window. We’d see that as a collaborative approach with the clubs and (Kerry) team management, but player welfare is ultimately our primary focus.

“It’s imperative that we don’t overload the players as they come back. An injured player is no good to anyone, neither his club nor the county team.

“I’m happy with the arrangement overall,” Mr Murphy said.

The chairman also welcomed the GAA’s decision to conclude the All-Ireland U-20 Football Championship and to play and Minor Football Championship, albeit it on a knock-out basis.

The Kerry U-20s play Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final on Saturday, October 17.

Kerry will play Cork in the Munster MFC semi-final, with the hurlers to face Tipperary in the Munster MHC quarter-final.