Roe accuses GAA of neglecting weaker counties

November 01, 2007

Offaly manager Pat Roe
Offaly football manager Pat Roe has called on the GAA to treat all players equally after it emerged that Division 4 teams will once again be debarred from competing in the All-Ireland qualifiers next year. Instead, Division 4 counties will again have to make do with the Tommy Murphy Cup once they are knocked out of their provincial championship. This means that Roe's Offaly team must finish in the top two of next year's Division 4 to earn the right to compete in the qualifiers. "Everyone should have a shot at the qualifiers. It's unfair. The GAA have to find a way of facilitating the clubs as well," he said. "It makes it harder for managers to motivate players when you just have one game and you are out." The Laois man uses the Munster Council's recent decision to seed their provincial football championship as an example of the poor treatment of weaker counties by the GAA's top brass. "The GAA are catering for the stronger teams and the weaker counties don't bring in the big money. That certainly is a huge factor in the GAA's thinking."

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