The GAA is not only the largest sporting body in the country but the biggest social grouping as well. It reaches into almost every community and it’s membership has a strong connection to the sport from the grassroots of the club through to the glory days of September and the All Ireland Championship Finals.
In the Annual Report of Director General Paraic Duffy published this week much emphasis in terms of mainstream media reporting was placed on negative incidents of biting but that glossed over some powerful numbers of interest to anyone considering a commercial relationship with the sport.
- 1,489,205 supporters attended Inter-County football and hurling championship games
- 770,003 followers across official GAA social Media channels
- 1,642,357 minutes of action viewed on the official GAA You Tube Channel
- 5,000,000 visits to the GAA.ie website392
- 2,518 affiliated GAA clubs in Ireland
- 392 more affiliated internationally
- 82,501 children participated in Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps
“Attendances at our inter-county football and hurling championship games surpassed our targets and expectations during 2013, with overall figures showing a rise of over 5%,” said Duffy.
“The quality and excitement of the games attracted more supporters as the championships progressed; the GAA undertook an extensive marketing and promotional campaign; the fine summer weather encouraged match attendance; the emergence of new challengers for provincial and All-Ireland titles drew new supporters to matches; and the presence of traditionally well-supported teams in the closing stages of the championships all helped to boost attendances.”
Over 250,000 attended the Leinster Provincial Championships in Hurling and Football with Dublin going all the way in both for only the fourth time providing a strong boost in that region.
There is mention of the introduction of a clock/hooter system for determining game time which will come into play at the Championships from May, and notice is also suggested of the ways in which the new broadcast rights deal might be structured as well.
“The existing three-year broadcast-rights cycle will come to an end before the start of the 2014 senior championships. Technological advances in the form of streaming and mobile devices, coupled with new ways in which supporters wish to engage with live and ‘catch-up’ action, open up new possibilities for the GAA, he said.”
The scope of the report is very wide and next week we will look at a number of key areas which Duffy highlights as being important for the future of the Association. These will include player welfare, schools and the financing of counties. They will be of interest to all sports.
