he GAA Club Players’ Association (CPA) is calling on the leadership of the association to review the existing GAA calendar.
In a statement released by the CPA, they highlight that the GAA was able to “take swift and decisive action on fixtures as we faced the Coronavirus threat” and they should be able to do the same when the threat of Covid-19 is gone.
The CPA is calling for the association to “flatten the fixtures curve” and establish an independent fixtures review body as the CPA believe the Strategic Review Committee, set up in 2002, “did not take full and deserving account of any proposals [the CPA] and the public put forward.
"The simple and unpalatable reality is that the GAA is in crisis."
The CPA added: “If a satisfactory set of fixtures cannot be agreed then this totally unnecessary and poisonous atmosphere will further escalate and damage our Association even further.
“The simple and unpalatable reality is that the GAA is in crisis.”
The CPA is calling for a national games programme divided into designated periods for club, inter county and third-level action, ensuring there will be no conflict for players in various groups.
The CPA also requested that the draft programme be sent to all clubs, who could vote on whether it be implemented or not.
The club vote would be followed by a Special Congress, remotely if necessary, to ensure any changes made can be brought in before the 2021 season.
The statement concluded: “We are today calling on the leadership of the Association to give clarity to their members within the next two weeks on how they plan to resolve the crisis we have outlined above and if they are prepared to take on board our suggested solution.”
