I was absolutely against the RWC bid from the start.
However there is of course a risk/reward element to it in terms of what it can bring into the State.
How does it make sense to put 30m into a facility and not maximize its usage?
There is absolutely zero logic to it from the Stateâs POV. The fact that the reason that the rule exists is bigotry which still hasnât been overturned canât be ran away from.
As for the sponsorship- commercial sponsorship is commercial sponsorship. It happens in all companies and all sports receive it. Not like the GGA didnât have banks putting money in is it?
Piggybacking onto Fagan flailing around demanding Belvedere increase their scholarship intake as if it is relevant to the historic treatment of the GGA or PuC is a sad case.
Youâre complaining about govt funding for a pitch in Cork because itâs not inclusive but have no issue with govt subsidising private schools. Thatâs hypocrisy.
The Government fund teachers. There is a secondary level education for every child that wants one. There isnât 30m for a Stadium for everyone.
Your argument seems to be about economic exclusion. This is about bigotry. The GGAâs ban comes from being anti British.
The ironic thing is that when the GGA finally open the doors to PUC youâll be first in the queue to support your beloved Liverpool playing a pre season game there.
I thought it interesting that everyone was jumping in slagging soccer for facilities and praising the GGA. I think if you look at it historically, economically and practically that is an uninformed position to take.
The Government also fund sports facilities. Thanks to the tireless work of the GAA there is a sports club in virtually every corner of the island where the health and wellbeing of the countryâs children and young adults is being looked after, an invaluable service to the country. Sadly the same can not be said for other sports who have squandered much of their money on mercenaries or administrators wages.
The GGA received a lucrative and exclusive tax break for years that other sports did not.
In terms competition, half the oafs in here spend their money on English soccer teams. Have can soccer honestly expect to compete when that happens? How could they compete as far back as the 50s when the best Irish players were going abroad? Lots have tried to invest in League of Ireland football in Ireland it just has not worked. The European football set up is skewed dramatically towards a few leagues.
Lads would rather watch Messi on Sky than go to a game. Thatâs just stating reality. The LOI has no chance.
The FAIâs money comes substantially from the national team therefore. Unlike the GGA and rugby, they are not free to negotiate their rights with pay tv. Remember that in 2002 Bertie Ahern crushed a lucrative tv contract for the ROI to play their qualifiers on Sky. People said âgreedy FAIâ but wtf were they supposed to do? That was their one asset and that asset was basically handed to RTĂ for a nominal fee for 15 years. There was little to no FTA competition in Ireland until Virgin Media took over TV3. Meanwhile the amateur GGA could go and sell Championship games to Sky Sports. Go figure on the fairness of that.
So the remainder of the money comes from tickets. Guess who needs to be paid?
The GGA is an amateur sport. It doesnât pay its players. Thus it has millions more to spend on facilities than other sports.
Rugby was in the fortunate position for years as well, but things change. Both rugby and soccer operate in a competitive environment, there was no choice on professionalism. It just happened.
So what money did the Irish football team really squander? A few blazers flying first class? Remember they werenât flying the players that way, so even if that was a realistic argument it would be null.
The turnover figures for the GGA, IRFU and FAI are revealing. Despite football being the most popular field sport in Ireland the FAI lag way behind. What other revenue streams do you propose they create?
Itâs revealing how many people just swallow this line about how great the GGA are for having facilities without any scrutiny of the facts at hand. Dullards who canât think independently and have been spoon fed propoganda from the crib.
Up to the 60s the league of Ireland drew huge crowds . Most of the Dublin clubs drew well over 10 k week in and week out . Limerick used to average 7 k and Waterford and cork clubs ditto . Athlone , Sligo and Dundalk were well followed too
This was while â the banâ was in full swing. Soccer was thriving domestically .
Increased number of players going to England
Match of the Day
What do you think happened?
This was a sport in a global market place.
There have been numerous attempts to get the LOI going. Money went in as far back as the 1970s into the likes of Shamrock Rovers and the crowds just didnât come back.
It have only got worse with Sky Sports, Ryanair etc.
Would one of the brain surgeons in here tell me what they think the FAI should do now to get the LOI going. Donât give me empty weasel words about investing in facilities. This is an organization with c. 55m in turnover and huge overheads and numerous mouths to feed up and down the country. Itâs operating in an environment where the richest leagues just get richer and UEFA have little interest in promoting large urban centres over leagues.
Match of the Day on the television from 1965 began the drift from Eire soccer types following Eire clubs teams to Man U and Liverpool and supporting English soccer (but not the England national team). For the first 40 years of its existence, the partitonist Eire soccer team selected a lot of players from a thriving Eire domestic league. Shay Brennan was the first player selected for Eire under the parentage rule in 1965. That soon morphed into the granny rule and as the Eire team was increasingly populated by bangers thereâs only been a handful of players from Eire clubs selected for Eire in the last 50 odd years.
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