‘ This deal is about having equality across the board’
FORMER Sligo footballer Eamonn O’Hara says the new deal between the GAA and GPA is a step in the right direction.
Last week it was announced that the GAA and the Gaelic Players’ Association had reached an agreement worth € 6.2 million a year which would have a number of benefits for players.
The new framework agreement means that there will be an increase in the mileage expenses for inter- county players, a nutrition expense, a fund for former inter- county players and much more.
The deal has, however, come in for some criticism from some quarters, but O’Hara says he can’t see why anyone would be critical of the deal.
“When the GPA was in its infancy it took a bashing, there was a lot of false rumours around that they were going to turn the game professional.
“They’re trying to improve the terms and conditions for players,” he added.
“It’s about getting players on the same level. This kind of movement started in the noughties and it’s come to fruition now which is brilliant.”
There have been suggestions since the announcement that this deal will drive a wedge between inter- county players and club players because of the deal, but O’Hara feels that this will not be the case.
“There are a lot of things being said about the deal. You can have a player who wants to progress, who puts in the work and who is determined to succeed.
“A club player may not have that same drive, they may not want to put in the same work. It’s a decision you make.
“I don’t see any division happening between the two sides. I mean for clubs, all fixtures need to be worked with. County players always know where they’ve come from.
“County players know about the fixture back log for clubs because of inter- county involvement, and there’s a lot of waiting around. These negative views will be expressed but I don’t see why or where these issues would appear.”
Another suggestion was that this deal is potentially a stepping stone towards turning the game semi- professional.
“The same comment was made back in 2002,” said O’Hara.
“This is based on stopping players from being out of pocket, from travelling and bashing cars by driving up and down the country.
“No players have said that they want to be professional. Now that’s changing somewhat with endorsements.
“You see Colm Cooper, Paddy McBrearty, Bernard Brogan and others endorsing products and services. Now it’s about getting a level playing field.
“The likes of Sligo and Antrim can be used com- mercially like Dublin, Tyrone, Kerry and all of those counties.
“There is no reason why Niall Murphy can be driving around in a Toyota like Colm Cooper is. It’s something that needs to be looked at.
“You’d like more recognition for players within Sligo. It will benefit the team commercially. But that’s all based on success on the field.
“We need to, maybe not sell players, but to get them involved in this kind of thing too,” he added.
The framework agreement between the GAA and GPA runs from 2017- 2019.