FAI seek permission for training game at Croke Park

**co. down green** · 02/11/2006, 10:43 PM

Just spotted this, any truth in it.

http://hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=68528

It has been reported that the FAI have asked GAA officials for permission to play a training game at Croke Park before the Euro 2008 qualifier against San Marino on November 15th.

That means that the first soccer match to be played at GAA headquarters could well be in ten days time on Sunday November 12th or Monday 13th and not next March when Ireland are due to play Wales in a European qualifier.

Rugby was expected to be the first �foreign� sport played at Croke Park when Ireland play France on February 11th, but sources close to the FAI and the IRFU have revealed that both soccer boss Steve Staunton and his rugby counterpart Eddie O�Sullivan are keen to see their sides have a run out at the Jones Road venue before their respective competitive matches.

Ireland are due to play a �B� international against Scotland the night before the match against San Marino and this would be the ideal opportunity for Staunton to play a friendly match in Croke Park, but as yet GAA officials have not given the go-ahead for the game.

**gspain** · 03/11/2006, 7:34 AM

It has been turned down according to today's Metro.

**CollegeTillIDie** · 06/11/2006, 6:50 AM

They'd stand a better chance with a friendly after Xmas. After all the GAA pledged to make it available in 2007 once the bulldozers go in to Lansdowne Road.

**Superhoops** · 06/11/2006, 8:26 PM

Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie

They'd stand a better chance with a friendly after Xmas. After all the GAA pledged to make it available in 2007 once the bulldozers go in to Lansdowne Road.

Only problem is there is no international date before 24 March 2007

**geysir** · 06/11/2006, 8:46 PM

Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie

They'd stand a better chance with a friendly after Xmas. After all the GAA pledged to make it available in 2007 once the bulldozers go in to Lansdowne Road.

Will it be "allowed" for friendlies to be played in Croke Pk?
I assumed that the hallowed turf will be available for competitive matches only.

**gspain** · 07/11/2006, 8:40 AM

This request was more for a training match. we often play these i nthe runup to an International.

The motion passed at GAA congress would have allowed friendlies but the central council signed a deal for competitive Internationals only.

That is OK for 2007 but the deal for 2008 etc will be interesting. The IRFU are playing 3 "tests" in the next 3 weekends. We'd probably call these friendlies but they may not be allowed to play these in 2008 at Croke Park. The deal also did not include Munster and Leinster Heineken Cup games so any home quarter final for an Irish team goes abroad.

We will want to play friendlies in 2008 & 2009. We may end up playing them all away or host a home friendly in England. It may not make financial sense to play home friendlies at Croke Park either given the deal. The GAA get a minimum guarantee so we'd probably need a 30,000 crowd to break even.

**endabob1** · 07/11/2006, 9:04 AM

Isn't there some UEFA stipulation that the away team have to be allowed train on the pitch prior to the game? It would be so ironic if the away team were allowed train there but not the home team!

**elroy** · 07/11/2006, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by gspain

This request was more for a training match. we often play these i nthe runup to an International.

The motion passed at GAA congress would have allowed friendlies but the central council signed a deal for competitive Internationals only.

That is OK for 2007 but the deal for 2008 etc will be interesting. The IRFU are playing 3 "tests" in the next 3 weekends. We'd probably call these friendlies but they may not be allowed to play these in 2008 at Croke Park. The deal also did not include Munster and Leinster Heineken Cup games so any home quarter final for an Irish team goes abroad.

We will want to play friendlies in 2008 & 2009. We may end up playing them all away or host a home friendly in England. It may not make financial sense to play home friendlies at Croke Park either given the deal. The GAA get a minimum guarantee so we'd probably need a 30,000 crowd to break even.

I think we'd easily get 50,000 for friendlies at croke park, we get about that as it is in lansdowne for most friendlies and i guarantee alot more people would come simply because of the croke park factor as well.

**gspain** · 08/11/2006, 1:16 PM

Wales and oursleves will have to be allowed train there before the game in March. This request is to train there next week. Nothing is ever simple when dealing with the GAA.

As for friendlies well it depends on the finance. The GAA pocket something like �1.2 million per game. Then there is the guarantee for the away team. So there is a breakeven point and then a point when it really becomes worthwhile. I've no idea of the figures but it could be a risk and much easier to take a match guarantee for an away game or do an agreement for home and away friendlies with the home game at Lansdowne after 2009.

The good news is that the friendlies likely to be worthwhile at Croke Park will probably be against Brazil, Argentina, England or Italy.

**oconghc2** · 11/11/2006, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by gspain

Wales and oursleves will have to be allowed train there before the game in March. This request is to train there next week. Nothing is ever simple when dealing with the GAA.

Can you not see that this is typical FAI though Gspain! - they have their chance to negotiate, but do not seem to have the foresight to look for a training match in november. (maybe they did but obviously not strong enough and now play it out in the papers!)

The GAA are doing FAI a favour (you might disagree) - but the GAA cannot be seen to be giving in to additional FAI demands or it looks extremely bad on their part.

Nothing is ever simple when dealing with the FAI

**gspain** · 14/11/2006, 8:19 AM

Originally Posted by oconghc2

Can you not see that this is typical FAI though Gspain! - they have their chance to negotiate, but do not seem to have the foresight to look for a training match in november. (maybe they did but obviously not strong enough and now play it out in the papers!)

The GAA are doing FAI a favour (you might disagree) - but the GAA cannot be seen to be giving in to additional FAI demands or it looks extremely bad on their part.

Nothing is ever simple when dealing with the FAI

Will you ever get real. They asked the GAA to allow a training session in Croke Park this week. It is hardly an earth shattering request,.

I appreciate we drape Union Jacks all around our training sessions and have God Save the Queen blaring over the tannoy so it couldn't be accomodated.

The GAA are the only sporting organisation on this planet that has rules about use of their grounds.

Do you really believe it was an unreasonable request to have a training session in Croke Park? You could ring up any rugby club, hockey club now and they'd gladly accomodate you this afternoon if they could.

You have Linfield accomodating camoige teams. Any chance they could train at Casement Park?

At least the minority rump of bigots in the GAA get another chance for a last stand.

**co. down green** · 14/11/2006, 8:31 AM

Without the GAA we would be travelling to England or Scotland for our 'home' games.

Its very unlikely that the FAI ever mentioned the use of the stadium for training , friendlies etc..

gspain

I think you spending to much time over on the n.i football forum, its all getting very political !!

**Jerry The Saint** · 14/11/2006, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by gspain

The GAA are the only sporting organisation on this planet that has rules about use of their grounds.

I agree with you to a point but not really sure what this means

**gspain** · 14/11/2006, 1:50 PM

I think blaming the F.A.I. for this is ridiculous. I mean have they asked to use the dressingrooms for the Wales game?

Do you think it was an unreasonable request?

Why do you think it was refused?

Is it really that bad to help our national football team prepare for a vital qualifier?

Yet again this will hardly be reported in the media as criticising the GAA is still the last taboo left in Irish society.

**EalingGreen** · 15/11/2006, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by co. down green

Without the GAA we would be travelling to England or Scotland for our 'home' games.

Its very unlikely that the FAI ever mentioned the use of the stadium for training , friendlies etc..

gspain

I think you spending to much time over on the n.i football forum, its all getting very political !!

Hmmm, I'm not sure who's making this whole issue of renting facilities between codes "very political", but I don't think the blame lies particularly at the door of the FAI, somehow.

Anyhow, can you imagine a situation whereby e.g. the national rugby or soccer stadium in Australia was unavailable, so they approached the Aussie Rules or Cricket guys and asked to use one of their stadia (sooner than play in NZ) at a cost of €1.2 million a time, only for them to be told: "Yes, but you can't actually practice on the pitch beforehand"?
And especially if the Rules or Cricket stadium had been built with the aid of a significant chunk of Australian taxpayers' money?
Step back and look at this situation with a degree of perspective. It's quite simply unthinkable, anywhere else but Ireland, and with any other sporting organisation but the GAA.

**Billsthoughts** · 15/11/2006, 1:08 PM

what next ?
arguments over walking down roads?
only in Ireland I tells ya...only in Ireland.....

**cooee** · 15/11/2006, 1:28 PM

This is a thread over nothing.
Firstly it has been a long and hard job to get the hardline anti-other sport GAA officials to approve the use of Croke Park for international rugby and soccer. Many GAA officials and members are still virulently against this......so tread carefully until they become more isolated and their concerns are put to sleep.

Then some dopey blazer in the FAI - an organisation so inept that it defies credulity, with no stadium worth the name - decides that a photo opportunity in Croker pre-San marino would be nice.

The FAI don't need to use Croker until next March - a friendly/training run in Feb/March the run upto that game is fine and will naturally be accomodated. The GAA are totally correct declining this spurious request.

Methinks that the FAI wanted to get in ahead if the rugby lads so they could be the first "English" game in Croker.......

**paul_oshea** · 15/11/2006, 1:53 PM

gspain: unlike the F.A.I the G.A.A have a structure in place, hence what makes it a very professional organisatoin unlike again the F.A.I, any change to the laws within the game have to be debated by congress and/or potentially central council, therefore the decision was made to play games ONLY when landsdowne was being re-constructed.....for the year 2007, nothing is mentioned about anything else.

structure is in place whether or not you like it, its their for a reason, its not changed on a whim, which makes the G.A.A a well structured, organised association unlike their association football cousins.....changing it on a whim is cowboy like, something you would see in teh F.A.I, surely unless you are in that boat, you wouldn't like cowboys to be running an organisation?!?!?!

Having said that I would like to see an exception made in this case for the sake of a game of training....

**elroy** · 15/11/2006, 2:20 PM

I dont think anyone is denying here that the gaa are a better run organisation but perspective needs to be taken of the two associations. The Fai's game has only in the last 20-30 years being available to those who also take part in gaa games. For many years, anyone who played gaa was forbidden from playing football. This had a deterimental effect on the development of the sport at the time. Therefore, it would be expected that the gaa would be a stronger and more well run sport than the fai.

Secondly, the gaa got its act together a few years back and put a plan together to build croke park to what it is today. Neither the irfu or the fai (eircom park aside) did anything similar. However, many a gaa fan will have you believe that this was achieved with little or no external assistance, this is simply not the case. The government played a large part in its development. This i feel is the strongest argument for the use of croke park by other sports.

Finally, alot of this just boils down to plain common sense, which I hope will prevail once the media circus of the first few games being played in croke park has passed.
Its common sense for the gaa to allow rugby/football played in croke park, financially they will very much benefit. it is also common sense that red tape does not have to be adhered to each time the irish rugby/football team wish to train in croke park. Was it outrageous for the fai to play a training match there this week, i think not. Would it really have hurt that much??!?!?!
And suggestions that the fai just merely wanted to be the first "foreign game" to be played in croke park are just downright ludricious. After all, american football achieved that many years ago!!

Whatever code you follow, just take a step back and look how incredulous this all is, as mentioned above we are the only nation that anything like this has taken place, a bit of common sense is all thats required.