Connacht Council secretary John Prenty believes that Covid-19 has helped create a blueprint for how the GAA should go about its business.
Referencing once again the “runaway train” that he says that inter-county game has become, Prenty feels that the belt-tightening measures forced upon the GAA by the pandemic are actually the way forward.
Writing in his report to the Connacht Council’s annual convention, which takes place this coming Thursday night, Prenty said: “For a number of years I have decried the excessive costs of the inter-county game in particular with year-on-year increases in expenditure.
“The way that the year panned out meant that the previous demands of inter-county team managers and players to train more, have more professional staff involved and consequently spend more, could not be accommodated as 2020 had to be different and we managed to have a very exciting, high quality inter-county Championship with county team costs at a fraction of the year before.”
Adding that “maybe we have stumbled onto a formula for the future”, Prenty advocated the split season model, tighter numbers on county panels, team expenses being met centrally by the GAA with additional costs confirmed by an auditor and a maximum of three training sessions per week or two sessions plus a game.
Prenty said that cooperation would be required from the Gaelic Players Association to police any cap on training.
He also advocated an official off season and limits to backroom teams, saying that “counties carrying huge backroom teams has shown to be unnecessary, in my opinion, whereby some counties have almost a back room panel on a one-to-one ratio with the players”.
He added: “Hopefully the runaway train of previous years can be slowed down to keep within the speed limits.”
Worryingly, Prenty forecast that, despite 2020 delivering next to nothing in terms of gate receipts, 2021 may be even more challenging.
“At the minute there is little or no prospect of attendances at our Championship games and it is important that the Council is allowed to avail of any streaming opportunities which are available for non-live televised games.
“Our financial situation will place a significant pressure on the Council and it will have a huge impact on our operational capability long into the future.
“There will be a need for the incoming Council to examine our financial situation, going forward, at an early date,” he concluded.
