Brian McAvoy, Ulster GAA Secretary, expresses his disappointment over the suspension of pre-season competitions for 2025 and urges their reinstatement in 2026. He questions the Gaelic Players Association's (GPA) stance on player welfare and their failure to ensure adherence to 'return to train' protocols.
The contentious decision to remove the pre-season competitions from the GAA calendar for 2025 is one that should be reversed for 2026 according to Ulster GAA secretary Brian McAvoy. At a meeting of the GAA ’s Central Council in September, it was agreed to paused all pre-season competitions .
A Cavan motion to restore the competitions at October’s meeting fell just two votes shy and many have questioned the wisdom of having no pre-season tournaments, especially when new rules are set to come into force in football later in January. The provincial council have already placed on record their disappointment at the decision and, writing in his annual report, McAvoy also questioned the GPA’s stance given that so many counties appear to be in breach of the ‘return to train’ protocols. ‘At their meeting on September 7 the GAA’s Ard Comhairle passed a resolution to suspend the pre-season competitions for one year, meaning that the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup and the Conor McGurk Cup competitions won’t be played in 2025,’ said McAvoy. ‘This was a disappointing decision and one which was taken without any prior consultation with the Provincial Councils. A motion to reverse this decision at the October Central Council meeting fell just two votes short of securing the required 60 per cent of voting members. ‘The Gaelic Players Association (GPA) argued that player welfare was paramount and if there were no pre-season competitions, inter-county players would not have to return to train collectively in November. ‘As the body responsible for championing the welfare of their members, there is an onus on the GPA to ensure that their members adhere to the ‘return to train’ dat
GAA Pre-Season Competitions Player Welfare GPA Ulster GAA
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