Amateur Status Review Committee motion passed at GAA Congress

By Cian O'Connell

Uachtarán CLG Jarlath Burns was encouraged that a motion from the Amateur Status Review Committee, introducing a new concept of certification for counties in order to be able to participate in senior inter-county competitions, was passed at GAA Congress.

As a new rule, the motion required more than 50 per cent approval. A total of 59.1 per cent of delegates voted in favour of the motion.

A number of delegates spoke about the proposal, but the motion was carried. "I accept the reservations that some counties might have had about it," Burns reflected in a media briefing following GAA Congress.

"They expressed them really well. That's what Congress is about.

"I did take a punt. I was a bit scared because if it didn't get through, I didn't really know where we were going to go with amateur status."

In an interview with GAA.ie, after taking office two years ago, Burns prioritised this area. "The amateur status is one of our values and what we are spending on preparing our teams is unsustainable," he remarked in 2024.

"Particularly as we prepare for integration when we'll have other teams to take care of. That has to change and the culture around the preparation of inter-county teams has to change from a number of perspectives.

"From a financial perspective, from an amateur status perspective, from the cardiovascular load we are putting on players perspective, and from a sustainability perspective as well. Because the amount of miles that are being done, the carbon footprint must be absolutely huge."

So, at Croke Park on Saturday, Burns was happy the motion received sufficient support. "If you look at the four things I wanted to achieve, it was hurling development, it was football review, it was the demographics thing, and obviously amateur status," he remarked.

"That would have been a failure. I did herald that it might have been a failure.

"I did say that, you know, everybody wants change, but nobody wants to change. I think that the majority spoke there today, and I was glad that they did, but if it had been a 60 per cent majority, we had just lost it."

Burns was also asked does he understand some of the concerns? "I do, but I would say trust us," he replied.

"The man here beside me (Ard Stiúrthóir Tom Ryan), that everybody does trust, and everybody knows that we would never have an agenda that we would try to slip something in without people knowing.

"Our members just would not let us do that. Everything that goes into that licence, high-performance licence, if you want to call it that, would be fully negotiated and fully consulted with again. You can see the process by which that would happen.

"So, I would just urge people to have confidence and trust in us."

A pdf of the report can be viewed and downloaded below.