Hurling elite face dividend shortfall

GAELIC GAMES: Established hurling counties are facing a shortfall in their dividend from this year's qualifier series. This arises from a likely fall in overall attendances because of the new qualifier format and also a proposal being looked at by the GAA, which would see all counties share in the distribution from the series.

In the past, the money raised by the qualifiers was divided between all of the counties contesting the senior intercounty championship. This year, however, the championships have been restructured so that all counties are contesting championships at various levels - the McCarthy Cup, the Ring Cup and the Rackard Cup.

In recognition of this, the traditionally weaker counties are to be included in the distribution from the qualifier series revenue. The qualifiers began back in 2001 with that season's football championship and a year later the system was extended to hurling.

"The money raised through the qualifiers all goes back to the counties," says Kathy Slattery, secretary of the GAA's Financial Management Committee, "after expenses for teams and the cost of staging the games have been deducted. It's divided between all the participating counties.

"They have turned out to be a financial success, even though there's a big administrative load involved. Last year's share was around €40,000 for both hurling and football counties. It's become a significant source of revenue and some counties are quite dependent on it at this stage.

"It's now under discussion to pay out a certain amount to all of the counties from the hurling qualifiers, as they're all taking part in the different competitions. It wouldn't be an equal share, but it would be something even though the Ring Cup will probably at best break even and the Rackard Cup won't cover costs."

There is the additional problem that under the new format the qualifier series is organised in two round-robin pools of four teams. In the past, the format was simple knockout between teams eliminated from their provincial championships.

Under the new system defeated provincial finalists will go through to the All-Ireland quarter-finals along with the champions and there play the top two teams in each of the pools. Up until this year there were only two quarter-finals; now there will be four.

This effectively means more exciting and attractive All-Ireland quarter-finals, but at the expense of the qualifier series. At the weekend there was a poor enough turnout at the three matches played.

Dublin-Clare attracted 3,000, Laois-Galway was attended by 2,500 and Offaly-Waterford - played on a double bill with Carlow-Offaly in football - was watched by 12,000.

There will be more box-office appeal to the last day of the qualifier round next month when the top two teams will play each other to decide who wins the pool and avoids the Leinster or Munster champions. But there won't be the type of high-profile knockout fixture such as Cork-Tipperary that drew 34,760 to Killarney last year and contributed to a total qualifier series attendance of 105,011 over seven matches.

Kilkenny are the only county not to compete in the football championship and so they rely on the hurling dividend.

"What you get is very welcome," according to county secretary Pat Dunphy. "It's extra revenue that helps us meet financial commitments to the players, etcetera that we have at the end of the year. There is reasonably good money to be got from it.

"We all have to survive and I don't know what sort of percentage Croke Park has in mind for this, but presumably it would be based on attendances at matches or something like that. It shouldn't be a problem if the percentage goes out in proportion, but obviously we would feel that it shouldn't cut too deeply into the takings of other counties."

In 2002, the first year in which there were qualifiers in both football and hurling, the total revenue from the series was €2.6 million. In 2003 that rose to €3.7 million and last year to €4.3 million.

According to Kathy Slattery, some of those increases can be attributed to ticket price rises and the feeling is that last year's figure, when inflation-adjusted, is unlikely to be bettered for the conceivable future. GAA president Seán Kelly doesn't believe that the redistribution will have a significant effect on the more successful counties' annual take.

"We have no decision made on how we're going to divide the income, but everyone should get a fair share. We have to take cognisance of the fact that some counties get bigger attendances, but with the crowds that are coming to matches there won't be any panic.

"It has to be remembered that any team going well that's the result of years of effort and it should be rewarded. The idea will be to encourage the weaker counties rather than discourage the weaker."