The campaign being led by inter-county players in Ladies’ Football and Camogie has been running for the past two weeks and every county has had an opportunity to show their support with quiet protest in advance of games.

Now the Men’s codes of hurling and football have stepped in writing an open letter to the GAA urging the leadership of the association to take a lead and ‘live the value of community’ by supporting the call for a player charter from next season that will deliver minimum standards of funding, facilities and supports to all players regardless of gender.

With Championships hurtling towards their highest-profile games the addition of a unanimous male voice adds weight to the campaign.

On Saturday at Croke Park Antrim will play Tipperary in the quarter-final of the Glen Dimplex All Ireland Camogie Championship followed by Kilkenny against Galway in the semi-final of the All Ireland Hurling Championship.

Both games are being televised live on RTÉ, and while no details of a protest have yet been suggested, it is possible if not likely that some reference will be made.

The text of the letter signed by the captains of all the Men’s Football and Hurling squads of 2023 reads as follows:

 

To the leadership and management of the GAA,

We, the 68 captains of the male senior inter-county teams, want to express our full support for our female colleagues and stand beside them #UnitedForEquality. As such, we are asking you to work with the Camogie Association, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the Gaelic Players Association to discuss the steps necessary towards providing the minimum standards of welfare and care for female players for 2024. They cannot be expected to wait any longer.

We do not accept that this is a matter solely for the two female governing bodies which is the response you have given to date. Among the GAA’s values is that of Community Identity. Community is at the heart of our Association. We know from our own communities that if our neighbour is struggling or requires help, the local GAA club steps forward to provide it.

We know our female inter-county colleagues in the Gaelic games community are in need of support. They need help to provide basics such as medical support, nutritional support, access to facilities and financial support to offset travel expenses.

Are you going to live that value of community, or will you allow this opportunity for positive change to pass us by? In the GAA we know and love, there would only be one answer to that question.

Yours sincerely,
The captains of the senior inter-county football and hurling squads (2023)

 

Sport for Business Perspective:

Clearly, there are issues of communication that need to be improved.  Part of the problem may be the difference in perspective with the timeline of a player considerably shorter than that of an administrator.

The latter is looking to the longer term of ensuring that integration is done the right way for all concerned.  That inevitably takes a lot longer than the more immediate concerns of the players.

If there is a feeling that the pace is not quick enough then that needs to be addressed.

The three associations have been able to work closer together in coaching, safeguarding and other areas and it is clear that the player charter is an area of grievance that needs to be tackled ahead of the more structural issues.

We have had a number of dealings with the Strategic Implementation Group and we are confident that progress is being made but sometimes the perception can become the reality and that needs to be considered in light of the clear dissatisfaction of the players and their willingness to go public at the busiest time of the year for them.

The Women did not need the support of the men but it remains the case that they are operating at a still higher level of visibility, and the move is a significant one.

A quiet protest in advance of Saturday’s games, supported by Kilkenny and Galway in the Hurling Semi-Final, broadcast live on RTÉ would lead to questions being asked in living rooms around the country.  It might even know the story of barter accounts and RTÉ Presenter salaries off the ‘Liveline’ agenda, even if only for a day.

And that might see the parties come together to look at what can be done as a fast first step towards making this a higher priority.