Briody insists CPA have more work to do
THE work of the Club Players Association is far from over according to chairman Micheál Briody. With the GAA unveiling a radically revamped master fixture list for 2018, he said the CPA is going to consult with a membership of over 25,000 with a view to continuing to look for a better programme of games for club players. Asked if the CPA’s work is done, he replied: ‘Far from. If this is the end goal on what we’re looking to achieve, I’d certainly be dissatisfied. ‘There is no club football there for long periods of the summer months. That’s very frustrating for a lot of club players as well. ‘We didn’t expect to be here for 12 months and then leave. We knew it was going to be a longer battle. ‘We’ve a lot of ideas. A set strategy over the winter. Croke Park say that clubs have all the power. We are going to do a little bit of work in the next couple of weeks and give clubs back the power. We have a plan.’ The GAA’s master fixture list features a radically changed season, from a planned National Hurling League final under floodlights in March to playing three provincial finals on the same weekend. Bringing the AllIreland finals forward is also intended to inform a better club championship schedule. ‘There has to be certainty around this,’ added Briody is terms of April being set aside almost exclusively for club action. ‘There is an opportunity to make this work if you look at April — if they give guidelines to county boards on how to enforce that. ‘What you don’t want is in April, with the Championship coming in May, if county managers have full rights over their players, pull them for challenge games, training games and all of that. Now they have put in some rules into Congress... but they are going to have to make sure they are policed.’