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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 2 Like(s)
Replying To ulsterrules: "Here is another way of looking at it.
Professional Football pays its players , Bruno Fernandez gets £300,000 per week alone, yet they charged less than €100 for a ticket to Croke park
GAA NOT professional , David Clifford get paid €0.00 per week, yet Croke Park charge €100 a ticket for the all Ireland" One was a friendly, the other was the pinnacle of our game. Try getting the best champions league final ticket for €100.
WanPintWin (National) - 14/08/2026 09:18:00
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Westmeath Football thread - 2 Like(s)
Replying To fizzygravy: "There reality is that this change was passed following a vote - there were objections from the floor on the evening of the planning meeting. However, there wasn't enough support to retain the structure when it came to voting. The county board management have quite a lot of votes but not enough to get a majority by themselves. Many hurling clubs abstained from voting which is understandable; they had no skin in the game. Some football clubs didn't vote surprisingly and others voted in favour of change. All that meant that the proposed change was ratified and 2026 has a new qualification structure for Senior and Intermediate championships. The CCC is tasked with planning competitions. These plans need to be accepted at a management meeting and then proposed to clubs for acceptance. All due process was carried out. I agree it's flawed but there is nobody at fault except perhaps club delegates not representing their clubs and members better." the county board have enough votes to make the difference. All clubs, naturally, voted for what suited their clubs in the coming year. So close to 50/50. County board votes tipped the balance. They wanted a different format , failed to ram it through, so used this as a stepping stone. If you want to remove something people like, make it worse first, and then they'll agree. The whole charade is bad faith.
Flawed is the wrong word to use. It's utterly farcical.
The club delegates are not at fault. The county board is. They are supposed to show leadership.
jamsie (National) - 14/08/2026 10:19:11
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Galway Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)
This is what I would like
4 group Senior winners into QF
4 group runners up in PQF
Example
St Thomas Loughrea, Clarinbridge, Turloughmore QF
Castlegar, T.Larkins, L.Mellows, Athenry PQF
PQF Castlegar v North Galway ,T.Larkins v Galway City/West, L.Mellows v East Galway, Athenry v South Galway.
Imagine East Galway v Clarinbridge or Turloughmore in the Senior QF!!
P.S East Galway would have the advantage of picking from about 10 Clubs
katser (National) - 14/08/2026 18:48:25
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Galway Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)
It would be the moral embarrassment of from winning 4 All Ireland Senior Club titles to been relegated to Junior that would be damaging.
Some Senior teams have never won a All Ireland Club title and as far as I can remember haven't played Intermediate let alone Junior.....Ardrahan would be one example.
It's hard to beat grassland tradition.....these old Clubs who have produced good hurlers through the 20s,30s,40s,50s,60s,70s,80s90s always seem to find away of keeping their Club alive at a decent standard of hurling.
That current Premier Junior is more like footballers who play hurling! Or as one lad said "hurlball Competition "
katser (National) - 14/08/2026 18:31:30
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GAA Journalism - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Kew: "Again no real hard questions from any GAA journalists about man utd v Leeds at croke park. I didn't even know it was on until last night but it seems GAA journalists have have don't cover anything that might rock the boat mindset ? If they don't report on it it doesn't happen? The lack of AFL discussion, the lack of opening up croke park to soccer for money and finishing the season quickly. The lack of any criticism or discussion by GAA journalists is disappointing especially when the season is over now." Hard questions? LOL
The season is over, the players want it that way to play clun football. The money is badly needed.. anyone who has even a brief knowledge of the GAA finances would know that. What more is there to say? :rolleyes:
Square_B (National) - 14/08/2026 17:51:24
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2026/0814/1587930-croke-park-keen-to-host-annual-premier-league-friendlies/
Also, strange how the perspex barrier was removed from The Hill and Nally for the game this week but will be back up for GAA games in Croker…!
Fionn (National) - 14/08/2026 16:17:25
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
Replying To FullOfPorter: "County boards are by no means perfect and plenty of mistakes made, we ended up in big debt a while back as well. But at the end of the day they are volunteers, the organisation remains community based no matter what happens and no US investor is discarding the teams when all goes wrong. I'm not sure if it unique to Ireland but professional rugby in Ireland seems to be controlled by the governing body with only four teams to manage where producing players for the national team is the main objective. Fair play to them but I feel absolutely no affinity with Connacht rugby. Following the GAA is an antidote to aloof nature of professional sport that lacks the community feel which the GAA has. I think going pro will eliminate that." We're not unique in that in rugby because same system operates in Scotland - SRFU owns the two professional teams there (Edinburgh and Glasgow), pays the players of those teams directly, and calls much of the shots about when they play for those teams or when they're released for national team duty.
England and France, the professional clubs are all independently owned and operated.
Wales is a messy mix of both systems, and it gets even messier every time they try to do something about it.
Pikeman96 (National) - 14/08/2026 15:46:13
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Galway Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)
That Portumna underage group at u13 and u14 is very strong. Saw Johnny Kelly was doing some coaching with them. There'd be a good few sons of former players all in that one age group
galway19 (National) - 14/08/2026 15:20:42
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
Am i the only one here who think that Croke park is being OVERUSED for gaelic games?
Yes the united game was a meaningless farce,and yes i would personally agree that the fact it sold out is a bit embarrassing, but the fact is it sold out,and it makes more sense to schedule a sellout concert or soccer/boxing match there than it does to schedule a sparsely attended Leinster championship match or league match there,with no atmosphere and an ocean of empty seats.
Seniorleague (National) - 14/08/2026 15:11:56
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
Replying To GreenandRed: "Rugby is professional and is well run. Amateur or professional doesn't determine if a sport is run well or badly. Some League of Ireland clubs are well run. Our county board taxed our clubs because they paid too much to upgrade McHale Park, a stadout that will never be full to it's oversized capacity for a football match." County boards are by no means perfect and plenty of mistakes made, we ended up in big debt a while back as well. But at the end of the day they are volunteers, the organisation remains community based no matter what happens and no US investor is discarding the teams when all goes wrong. I'm not sure if it unique to Ireland but professional rugby in Ireland seems to be controlled by the governing body with only four teams to manage where producing players for the national team is the main objective. Fair play to them but I feel absolutely no affinity with Connacht rugby. Following the GAA is an antidote to aloof nature of professional sport that lacks the community feel which the GAA has. I think going pro will eliminate that.
FullOfPorter (National) - 14/08/2026 14:35:45
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Formertownie: "I dont know if anyone has asked or knows the answer . But why was nt the game played in the aviva the home of rugby .
Seriously though was it purely a financial decision larger capacity etc .
Surely if the fai want to gain momentum and earn money the blueprint for a preseason tournament it's the way to go to earn huge monetary rewards .
Who organised the game in croker a club the fai , croke park or was it just an independent promoter/company
If a promoter i m sure they ve crunched the numbers and realised it was a massive money spinner .
Be interesting to see if it repeats next year knowing g they could ve sold out more will the tickets see an increase in price by 25% at least.
Even after paying for croke park and the teams involved they surely made a killing .
Either way i would nt have any interest in going .
80000 tickets sold at say 75 euro average thats
6Million without sponsors etc . Nice earner .
Yes there are huge overheads but maybe gaa should run it themselves in future . Rather than just providing the greatest stadium in the country and nake even more money out of them .
So we can live rent free in peoples heads and charge them too ." These pre-season friendlies are organised and run by the clubs themselves or by independent promoters. They'd look at what teams might be available to play and what grounds might be available to rent in locations where there might be money to be made.
I believe Manchester United themselves were the main organisers of this one. Their number-crunches would have identified Leeds as potential opponents and agreed to pay them a certain amount to travel over to play. Would also have identified Dublin as a "handy" place to likely get a sell-out crowd due to large Man United support here and the fact that they hadn't been here in a few years.
As regards the venue, they may well have sought a price too from IRFU/FAI for the rent of the Aviva Stadium. And then thought "x amount to rent that one and sell 50,000 tickets....or y amount to rent that one and sell 82,000 tickets....let's go for the bigger one".
GAA would have had little or nothing to do with it other than agreeing the rent and fulfilling whatever other terms were written into the agreement. FAI would have had even less.
If GAA was to try arrange such a thing as an independent promoter, they'd have to approach clubs first, agree an appearance fee (could be millions) that they'd have to pay them no matter what, and take charge of everything else involved in having the match too, such as policing, sponsorship, TV, etc.
I've no objection myself to the GAA making Croke Park available for a soccer match or anything else at a time that suits, and making money from renting out the ground.
But I would object to them arranging such a thing themselves. I wouldn't be happy with GAA time and resources being put into arranging a soccer match or a concert or a boxing match instead of being put into the running and oversight of our own games.
Pikeman96 (National) - 14/08/2026 13:42:52
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Monaghan GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Farney: "I would be sorry to see a change, GB was able to turn around several matches this year from losing positions. we had a seriously good year considering the injuries that we had. And as for the Louth match.. we just didn't have the midfielders to challenge them on their kickout and they were guaranteed possession in our half of the pitch. Karl Gallagher was a serious loss along with Beggan." Totally agree
Farneyblueandwhite (National) - 14/08/2026 12:32:48
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
Replying To ulsterrules: "One is a professional sport that takes in millions from gate receipts and sponsors etc and pays players millions a year
the other is a volunteer led organisation that takes in millions from gate receipts and sponsors and pay the players nothing." All Ireland final our pinnacle sporting event.....Man Utd v Leeds in a meaningless friendly. Bruno Fernandez, like all of the pro soccer players, plays for a soulless multi million sporting investment franchise with no real ties to their clubs bar the lucrative contract...you can't actually put a price on what the GAA has with the club and county scene when it comes to local loyalties and players being ordinary local lads. That 100 euro gets redistributed back to the clubs and allows our game to avoid all the grubbiness that comes with professionalism.
Look at League of Ireland for a window into how things can go when it comes to professional sport in Ireland. No doubt it is entertaining and the quality has dramatically improved, but you have Derry shambolically run. Dundalk huge fall from grace and nearly ran into the ground. The successes and failures of a club determined by the competency of their owners, many of who are just looking at it from an investment point of view. Is that what we really want in the GAA?
FullOfPorter (National) - 14/08/2026 11:58:25
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
Replying To CastleBravo: "The 2nd Wednesday in August used to be all about the All Ireland final. Now they're playing soccer in Croke Park instead.
Is this what the men of 1916 died for?" They didnt die for any sports ground. Sadly we still dont all have what they died for.
Viking66 (National) - 14/08/2026 07:07:45
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GAA Journalism - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Kew: "Again no real hard questions from any GAA journalists about man utd v Leeds at croke park. I didn't even know it was on until last night but it seems GAA journalists have have don't cover anything that might rock the boat mindset ? If they don't report on it it doesn't happen? The lack of AFL discussion, the lack of opening up croke park to soccer for money and finishing the season quickly. The lack of any criticism or discussion by GAA journalists is disappointing especially when the season is over now." Well said.
supersub15 (National) - 14/08/2026 11:24:23
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
Replying To ORIELMAN85: "Doesn't make it a great championship.
A lot of close games,but mediocre quality. Two Ulster titles in 60 years." That's true.
If Tyrone Senior Football Championship is "best in Ireland" because of "13 different winners in little over 20 years with no back to backs in 25 years", then Wexford Senior Football Championship must be in the running for second best.
We've had 12 different winners in little over 20 years, and until Castletown completed a two-in-a-row last year, no back-to-back since 2005/'06.
Pikeman96 (National) - 14/08/2026 11:19:41
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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Viking66: "Ive a feeling hes talking about the hurling final." Good man Viking66. You're one of our own.
Saynothing (National) - 14/08/2026 11:05:50
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Westmeath Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Iarmhisamhi: "Have to agree wholeheartedly here. It beggars belief that this format made it through and that it is actually underway. Did nobody shout stop? How on earth could any delegate vote for this structure?
Every structure has its flaws of course but this is the most ridiculous of any of the possible options. Farcical is indeed the best word for it. Obviously this will change for next years championship as it simply cannot continue.
I think we will end up with the best teams in the final but because of this madness anything can happen." There reality is that this change was passed following a vote - there were objections from the floor on the evening of the planning meeting. However, there wasn't enough support to retain the structure when it came to voting. The county board management have quite a lot of votes but not enough to get a majority by themselves. Many hurling clubs abstained from voting which is understandable; they had no skin in the game. Some football clubs didn't vote surprisingly and others voted in favour of change. All that meant that the proposed change was ratified and 2026 has a new qualification structure for Senior and Intermediate championships. The CCC is tasked with planning competitions. These plans need to be accepted at a management meeting and then proposed to clubs for acceptance. All due process was carried out. I agree it's flawed but there is nobody at fault except perhaps club delegates not representing their clubs and members better.
fizzygravy (National) - 14/08/2026 09:55:46
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Westmeath Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)
I see Conor Raleigh is moving to Mullingar CBS, they have a great chance of going one better and making a Leinster final this coming year.
Dheen (National) - 14/08/2026 09:25:11
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Galway Hurling thread - 1 Like(s)
Replying To Pope_Benedict: "I don't buy this theory that falling to Junior impedes the route back to Senior. Why should it set a team back years? That's just cliche really. If your talent capacity for a spell drops you to Junior, it won't greatly delay the route back to senior, once a senior calibre roster emerges from underage at some point. Portumna are enthusiastic enough about their u13/u14 groups at the moment, according to a GBFM report I heard recently. That's not to say they'll be senior in 10 years time, but it's not to say they won't be either. Either way, if they come with a senior calibre bunch at some point, they'll likely emerge from junior just as quickly as intermediate imo." Exactly. A team will generally end up at a level where their talent at the time determines they should be.
If they develop some strong groups from underage, then they have a chance to progress again.
It often actually helps a young group coming through to graduate into Junior or Intermediate initially at adult level, rather than being thrown into senior.
Portumna were junior in the past for many years and intermediate for around a decade, before finally getting to senior in the early 90s. That's where their level was at the time. They're competing very well at U14 A, so if they keep that team together and a few more to add to it, they'll build again.
WanPintWin (National) - 14/08/2026 09:16:35
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