Male inter-county players have rowed in behind the stance taken by their ladies football and camogie county counterparts in an open letter to the GAA.
Last month, female inter-county players voiced their frustration at the failure of the GAA, Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the Camogie Association to form a ‘Charter for Minimum Standards of Player Welfare’, saying that they would play under protest for the remainder of the 2023 Championship.
That has taken the form of players sitting down on the field ahead of the throw-in, while last weekend players left the field for a period after the national anthem, with the protests set to continue in some form in the coming weeks.
There has been no protest among male players though in an open letter “to the leadership and management of the GAA”, issued through the Gaelic Players’ Association, team captains expressed support for female players’ stance.
The letter reads: “We, the 68 captains of the male senior inter-county teams, want to express our full support for our female colleagues and stand beside them #UnitedForEquality.
“As such, we are asking you to work with the Camogie Association, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the Gaelic Players Association to discuss the steps necessary towards providing the minimum standards of welfare and care for female players for 2024.
“They cannot be expected to wait any longer.
“We do not accept that this is a matter solely for the two female governing bodies which is the response you have given to date.
“Among the GAA’s values is that of community identity. Community is at the heart of our Association. We know from our own communities that if our neighbour is struggling or requires help, the local GAA club steps forward to provide it.
“We know our female inter-county colleagues in the Gaelic games community are in need of support. They need help to provide basics such as medical support, nutritional support, access to facilities and financial support to offset travel expenses.
“Are you going to live that value of community, or will you allow this opportunity for positive change to pass us by? In the GAA we know and love, there would only be one answer to that question.”
