HoganStand GAA Football and Hurling

National Forum

Similar GAA And Soccer Calendar Years

(Oldest Posts First)

You need to Login to Post

Now that the FAI has announced a change to their calendar year (Summer season) what implication will this have for the GAA. Coming from a small rural club who have struggled to field underage GAA teams, the fact that most of our underage players also play soccer during the winter with the local club, players and indeed mentors might have to make a choice in the future. It might also have an impact on attendance figures for clubs/ counties due to games ( club / championship / league of Ireland) being played at the same time or on similar weekends where people might gave to budget for. As far as I know it is going to be implemented by the FAI at different levels over time. letsgetgoing (Roscommon) - Posts: 643 - 06/12/2024 11:46:55 2582614 Link
Replying To letsgetgoing: "Now that the FAI has announced a change to their calendar year (Summer season) what implication will this have for the GAA. Coming from a small rural club who have struggled to field underage GAA teams, the fact that most of our underage players also play soccer during the winter with the local club, players and indeed mentors might have to make a choice in the future. It might also have an impact on attendance figures for clubs/ counties due to games ( club / championship / league of Ireland) being played at the same time or on similar weekends where people might gave to budget for. As far as I know it is going to be implemented by the FAI at different levels over time." Hopefully it'll bury soccer in rural areas ,the dual players ,doesn't need soccer on during the summer aswell and the rugby will b laughing as they l have the lads all to themselves Timmy86 (Sligo) - Posts: 308 - 06/12/2024 12:36:16 2582625 Link
Replying To Timmy86: "Hopefully it'll bury soccer in rural areas ,the dual players ,doesn't need soccer on during the summer aswell and the rugby will b laughing as they l have the lads all to themselves" What about hurling and football dual players? Let players decide what sport they want to play. Plenty of club football and hurling players with less games to play because of the compressed intercounty season impacting the club leagues and championship. Summer soccer might even stop some of them heading to US during the summer. GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7704 - 06/12/2024 14:21:41 2582637 Link
Replying To Timmy86: "Hopefully it'll bury soccer in rural areas ,the dual players ,doesn't need soccer on during the summer aswell and the rugby will b laughing as they l have the lads all to themselves" Why would you want to bury soccer? My local GAA club work with the local soccer club at the start of each season for each age group. For example I'm over the U12 soccer team and help out with the GAA U12s, The soccer lads train Mon and Weds and Gaelic lads Tues and Friday. This happens across all age groups One of the local GAA clubs here in Dundalk even had a local soccer tournament on their pitches recently (7 a side with over 48 teams) as the local soccer club to them hadn't the space to hold a tournament of it's size on it's on so they used both venues This idea that GAA and soccer needs to compete with each other is absolute nonsense DundalkGael (Louth) - Posts: 921 - 06/12/2024 15:19:05 2582644 Link
The problem I see with this idea is when matches are on..I see it locally here where young fellas had a Gaa match at 11 in morning then trying to get to soccer match for an afternoon kick off..under age soccer can't in most places be played on Sunday due to it being juinor day..I've a feeling this will hit clubs at Gaa and soccer.. CTGAA10 (Limerick) - Posts: 2404 - 06/12/2024 15:56:23 2582649 Link
Replying To DundalkGael: "Why would you want to bury soccer? My local GAA club work with the local soccer club at the start of each season for each age group. For example I'm over the U12 soccer team and help out with the GAA U12s, The soccer lads train Mon and Weds and Gaelic lads Tues and Friday. This happens across all age groups One of the local GAA clubs here in Dundalk even had a local soccer tournament on their pitches recently (7 a side with over 48 teams) as the local soccer club to them hadn't the space to hold a tournament of it's size on it's on so they used both venues This idea that GAA and soccer needs to compete with each other is absolute nonsense" Good post...Really all sports are competing with drink, drugs and phones. They are the biggest dangers to all young players. conordee (Galway) - Posts: 450 - 06/12/2024 16:50:47 2582657 Link
Personally I have nothing against soccer and people have the right to play and support whatever they wish. However after a life time of experiencing both sports they are not compatible. Quite simple in Gaelic Games players attack the ball. Or used to in Gaelic football. In soccer most of the time is waiting for the ball to come to you. My old coach was majorly biased against soccer players on the football team. I got dropped for a returning soccer player (my friend) by the selectors. He ran out on the field and dragged him off. The full back would attack the ball and he was waiting behind him for the perfect pass of the ball coming to him. Canuck (Waterford) - Posts: 2900 - 06/12/2024 17:51:55 2582661 Link
Replying To Timmy86: "Hopefully it'll bury soccer in rural areas ,the dual players ,doesn't need soccer on during the summer aswell and the rugby will b laughing as they l have the lads all to themselves" The way football is being coached and played it's more likely to have a detrimental impact on GAA rather than have any impact on soccer.. The idea that anyone with any brains would want any sport buried is pathetic ….. ForeverBlue2 (Cavan) - Posts: 3154 - 06/12/2024 18:25:11 2582663 Link
Replying To conordee: "Good post...Really all sports are competing with drink, drugs and phones. They are the biggest dangers to all young players." And you can add gambling to that. Gambling is ruining young people more than drinking ever did. Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2168 - 06/12/2024 21:45:50 2582679 Link
Replying To letsgetgoing: "Now that the FAI has announced a change to their calendar year (Summer season) what implication will this have for the GAA. Coming from a small rural club who have struggled to field underage GAA teams, the fact that most of our underage players also play soccer during the winter with the local club, players and indeed mentors might have to make a choice in the future. It might also have an impact on attendance figures for clubs/ counties due to games ( club / championship / league of Ireland) being played at the same time or on similar weekends where people might gave to budget for. As far as I know it is going to be implemented by the FAI at different levels over time." My father and I were only having that conversation recently. I can only speak for Wexford but Gaelic football will lose out. Young lads who are playing hurling, soccer and football will most likely be dropping football. I think it will hurt soccer as well. Wexford has the largest Sunday league soccer outside of Dublin. It is absolutely massive. Oulart the ballagh are a major hurling club with no football and a soccer team. Their soccer team in September to October gives everyone walkovers because they can't field a team. Then once the hurling is over they usually work their way back to the top 3/4 in the soccer. A mad situation, but fairly typical of rural Wexford. Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 3228 - 07/12/2024 07:09:28 2582691 Link
At the minute our local underage soccer club is mostly Gaelic players, and once there is a clash the soccer will suffer. Even now parents are looking at the league fixtures and telling the soccer coach that they better have the League wrapped up by March. I'd safely say that when they switch, the player pool at our soccer club will be cut by 60/70 %. However, on the opposite side of the coin, for a lot of counties who are not playing competitive GAA until U14, they will risk losing good players who are playing competitive soccer from U12. Once kids get the taste of competitive sport, as opposed to Blitzs and Go Games, they will go for the competition every time. BrehonBlonde (Monaghan) - Posts: 89 - 07/12/2024 09:59:52 2582698 Link
I think it will hurt soccer more than GAA. Yes in areas where soccer is strong summer soccer may take a few from the local GAA team but that would be mainly urban clubs. Outside of big towns and cities the GAA is still part of the community fabric in a way few soccer clubs are. Hence the pushback from a lot of local soccer leagues. brianb (Kildare) - Posts: 370 - 09/12/2024 16:05:13 2582903 Link
I was disappointed by this. It just makes it harder for kids and parents, the FAI should have just left it the way it was as in a country like Ireland which has a lot of sports for kids it worked well. bdbuddah (Meath) - Posts: 1402 - 22/12/2024 07:41:18 2584265 Link
Would Argue that currently the way Gaa is being coaching it would drive more kids towards the soccer as simply put its more fun. Allot of coaching done now is all about playing a certain way to win games and not letting Kids just go out and play. From what I have seen the change to summer leagues will only hamper GAA clubs Donegal14 (Donegal) - Posts: 2 - 23/12/2024 14:54:45 2584346 Link
Replying To BrehonBlonde: "At the minute our local underage soccer club is mostly Gaelic players, and once there is a clash the soccer will suffer. Even now parents are looking at the league fixtures and telling the soccer coach that they better have the League wrapped up by March. I'd safely say that when they switch, the player pool at our soccer club will be cut by 60/70 %. However, on the opposite side of the coin, for a lot of counties who are not playing competitive GAA until U14, they will risk losing good players who are playing competitive soccer from U12. Once kids get the taste of competitive sport, as opposed to Blitzs and Go Games, they will go for the competition every time." There hasn't been competitive rugby for players until under 13 age group since 2002 or 2003 and it hasn't hampered playing numbers. So don't think that will hurt playing numbers. KillingFields (Limerick) - Posts: 3681 - 23/12/2024 18:07:19 2584361 Link
My nephew's under 8 soccer game was called off recently. They were playing a club from a unionist town and the referee insisted that the players and parents join in with their remembrance day commemoration. PattyONeill (Derry) - Posts: 251 - 23/12/2024 20:28:19 2584369 Link
Replying To bdbuddah: "I was disappointed by this. It just makes it harder for kids and parents, the FAI should have just left it the way it was as in a country like Ireland which has a lot of sports for kids it worked well." The FAI are trying to do what's best for the FAI. Time will tell if the calendar change will benefit them. GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 7704 - 23/12/2024 21:08:44 2584372 Link
Replying To KillingFields: "There hasn't been competitive rugby for players until under 13 age group since 2002 or 2003 and it hasn't hampered playing numbers. So don't think that will hurt playing numbers." GAA was U13 as well until this past year, when the age groups changed from odds (U7, U9, U11, U13) to evens (U8, U10, U12, U14) etc. There was no standardised approach as to what age group competitions should start this year. Each county made their own decision. Some counties played an U12 championship, but others didn't, instead having it at U14. In Monaghan there was a hybrid approach at U12; a non competitive skills based system for the first few months, followed by a proper championship. Competitive soccer starts at U12. Some would say that U12 is too early, but U14 is certainly too late. If the GAA left starting competitive games to U14, they would therefore risk losing players to both Soccer and Rugby, as their competitions start at the younger age. A child who has two years of a competitive sport under their belt are more likely to stick with that sport. Luckily in a county like Monaghan, the GAA doesn't have huge competition from either sport, but I'm sure that in the areas of the country where the GAA has more competition from the other sports, they will increasingly lose out on players if they do not provide competitions at U12. Returning to the main point of this thread, if soccer are going head to head with GAA with the introduction of the same calendar, then the GAA will need to similarly need to go head to head with soccer in the ages that the provide competitions at, or they will risk losing their best talent. BrehonBlonde (Monaghan) - Posts: 89 - 23/12/2024 22:27:14 2584381 Link