2 days Ago
GPA chief executive Tom Parsons. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile The Gaelic Players Association (GPA) will oppose any extension to the inter-county season that takes into account later dates for All-Ireland finals, their chief executive Tom Parsons has suggested in his address to their annual general meeting. Addressing members last night, Parsons said the association would continue to call for reform that takes into account the toll on players, which would be a “significant focus” over the next 18 months.
Parsons has said the GAA has continued to "squeeze too many competitions into an agreed window for inter-county players" and has again suggested the pre-season provincial competitions should be discarded because “we find it increasingly challenging to justify (them) with overlapping eligibility issues in January, which add to the player load." Parsons is a member of the Amateur Status Committee which has been put in place by GAA president Jarlath Burns to look at the load on inter-county players. He said support for the split season was running at 85pc among players while 63pc felt it reduced their time demands.
The chief executive added that they would continue to push for change across three headlines – a balanced fixtures schedule that addresses the condensed nature of games (a sufficient gap between league and championship), the implementation of the agreed contact hours policy to ensure adequate rest and recovery periods, and a guaranteed off-season. But he stressed.
