Mixing football and politics

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Yesterday’s When Saturday Comes website ‘WSC Daily’ feature was a short piece I wrote about Football Club Barcelona’s outgoing president Joan Laporta’s real world political ambitions. It seems as if Joan fancies himself as the man to bring about an independent Catalonia. As the piece says:

“Outgoing Barcelona president Joan Laporta looks set to run as a candidate for Catalan regional president in elections this November. Although he has yet to announce his candidacy formally, a campaign website is already up and running. “I will continue to dedicate the best years of my life to the country I love,” says a beaming Laporta. “The moment has come for us all to serve Catalonia.”

To read the rest of the piece on wsc.co.uk, click here.

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Youth enterprise

I have a piece in the last edition of When Saturday Comes looking at the influence of Irish builder and cultural critic Mick Wallace on his local football club Wexford Youths. This influence seems to be a positive one, as seen in this sneak preview of the story:

“The self-made millionaire who takes over a football club, bringing initial euphoria and success followed by disappointment and disaster is a stock character in football, as fans of English clubs as disparate as Chester City and Crystal Palace know well. But the story of Wexford Youths and Irish property developer / philanthropist / philosopher Mick Wallace is different. Or so it seems anyway.”

To read the rest of the story, well you better buy the May issue of When Saturday Comes magazine, which is available from all good Irish newsagents now, and also available to buy online here at wsc.co.uk.

I feel like a proper contributor to WSC at this point, with five pieces published on different Irish and Spanish football topics over the last 18 months or so. Which is pretty cool, as it’s probably the best football publication around. Here’s a Scribd link a story I wrote last September about a 60,000 strong march through Seville city centre by Real Betis fans angry at how their club was being run.

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Private viewing

I’m more than very happy to have another story in this month’s When Saturday Comes, which is one of the best, if not the best, football periodicals around.

The article is a look at Kill the Referee, a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the refs and reffing at the Euro 2008 football tournament. I saw the doc at the Seville European Film Festival last month, and spoke with its Belgian director Yves Hinant about the work:

“I am not a sports journalist and do not care about football,” Hinant told me. “I make films about real life. For me UEFA was like a huge company and football is like any other work. The referees are ordinary employees who have to follow the rules while under a lot of pressure.”

So the film does not features many goals or pieces of skill, instead focusing on the refs decisions, pressures, controversies, personal rivalries etc. It’s pretty interesting and is a nice antidote to the recent brouhaha about controversial refereeing decisions. I’d tell you even more about Kill the Referee, but really you should buy a copy of the mag to find out.

It’s available from most good newsagents in Ireland and the UK, or indeed online at the wsc.co.uk website shop. Enjoy.

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Ireland confident in testing times

Sunday Business Post – Business of Sport – Aug 23 2009

Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.

Everyone involved with the Irish cricket team is looking forward to taking on England in a one-day cricket international in Belfast on Thursday, according to the chairman of cricket for Cricket Ireland.

‘‘The England fixture is a massive event for everybody connected with Cricket Ireland,” said Joe Doherty.

‘‘As a one-off fixture, it would always be the showpiece of any year, but it is not just a meaningless friendly against one of the ‘big’ nations. It is a full ranking ODI (one-day international) that carries global ranking points for both countries and also serves as a benchmark for our own progress,” he said.

The match, sponsored by RSA Insurance, was the only chance to see top-level international cricket in Ireland this year, he said. It will be England’s first game after the final Test of the current Ashes series with Australia.

‘‘Tickets are selling strongly, and we expect the Stormont ground to be packed on the day,” he said. ‘‘The fixture is also attracting strong interest from groups making block bookings for corporate, club and social entertainment in the marquees.”

The game will be the third one-day international in three years between the two nations.

Although England have won both games so far, including a meeting during the 2007World Cup in Guyana, Ireland were not outclassed on either occasion. Given the timing this time around, they will fancy their chances of an upset on Thursday.

Ireland will have a full strength team to call on, including captain William Porterfield and England-based players Niall O’Brien and Boyd Rankin.

‘‘The coach and selectors have a full complement of players available,” said Doherty. ‘‘All our players are looking forward to another joust against the English.”

The Irish team is also involved in the Intercontinental Cup – the main competition for second tier cricketing nations.

‘‘We are proud holders of the trophy won in South Africa last winter, and have now won it on three successive occasions,” said Doherty. ‘‘It is a benchmark trophy for International Cricket Council [ICC] purposes, and an indicator of the ‘best of the rest’ outside the Test cricketing family. So far this year, we have had the better of a rain-affected draw against Kenya in July and performed well again against Scotland this week.”

Barring a win against England on Thursday, the highlight of the year for Irish cricket will remain June’s world T20 tournament in London, where Ireland beat Bangladesh to make the Super 8 stage.

Doherty said a successful qualification for next year’s World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies in April, was now expected of the Irish team.

‘‘We are determined to qualify again, and we will have all our top players available,” he said. ‘‘We are in no way complacent though, as aT20match can hinge on one good performance from one player on either side. Our T20 skills are being honed all the time and we hope to have the players at peak performance level, mentally and physically, come February’s qualifying tournament in the UAE.”

Off the field, the major development at Cricket Ireland this summer has been the recruitment of Mark Garaway as the sport’s new director of cricket operations, a position funded by the ICC to improve the standard and profile of cricket in Ireland.

‘‘Although only 35,Mark is vastly experienced at playing, coaching, analysis and cricket administration,” said Doherty. ‘‘In the England camp, he was responsible for providing specialist technical support to successive coaches, including Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower.

‘‘We are confident that, as well as improving participation, development and coaching throughout Ireland, he will be a precious asset to coach Phil Simmons and the playing staff. We are excited about him coming on board.”

Garaway’s brief will include preparing Ireland for possible elevation to the ranks of full Test-playing cricket nations, said Doherty.

‘‘Test cricket is not feasible in Ireland in the short term due to logistical considerations, such as stadia, quality of pitches, core support for the game and working capital,” he said. ‘‘In the medium term, however, many of these issues could be addressed. The future structure of Test cricket is by no means set in stone.

‘‘Our medium-term goal is to be ranked in the world’s top eight by 2015,up from our position of tenth,” said Doherty. ‘‘Our strategic plans reflect the steps necessary to achieve that goal and we are undergoing a review of our domestic game to get the basics right.

‘‘Next year we will host Australia in another ODI, and we have negotiated an arrangement to alternate visits from the ‘big two’ from now on. Mark Garaway is joining us at the perfect time.”

He added that the rising profile of the Irish cricket team, especially since the World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, had led to an increase in the numbers playing the game.

‘‘Participation levels have definitely increased since 2007, and organised cricket is being played again in parts of Ireland where it had never been formally played or where it had lain dormant for more than a century,” he said.

‘‘We are currently providing development support to groups in counties Roscommon and Sligo and in the city of Derry, for example, where cricket had been in decline since the outbreak of the Troubles. We need to expand the core base of participation and active interest to give us a chance of recurring success at international level, competing, as we do, against countries with vast cricketing populations.”

Attaining test status would help to halt the steady flow of Irish-born players, such as Ed Joyce and Eoin Morgan (who is in the England squad for this week’s match) to other countries, said Doherty.

‘‘In the short term, the loss of players like Ed and Eoin will continue to be a challenge, but we respect our young cricketers’ healthy ambitions. For those two, England was the only Test show in town,” he said. ‘‘Until and unless we can offer meaningful Test or ‘new Test’ status to our players, that anomaly will continue to exist and frustrate us.”

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Irish have strong chance in Berlin World Championships

Sunday Business Post – Business of Sport – Aug 16 2009

Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.

The Irish squad competing at the World Track and Field Championships in Germany is one of the most experienced sent to a major championship, according to Liam Hennessy, president of Athletics Ireland. Leading track stars such as David Gillick, Derval O’Rourke, Paul Hession, Eileen O’Keeffe and Robert Heffernan are all part of the 14member squad at the championships, which began yesterday in Berlin.

‘‘The majority of these athletes competed in the last World Championships in Osaka in 2007, and again last year at the Olympics in Beijing, so we are lucky in that respect,” said Hennessy. ‘‘There are some great athletes on the team – and you look to the likes of Paul Hession (200 metres) and David Gillick (400 metres), who have been so impressive this year.

‘‘Derval O’Rourke (100 metres hurdles) showed what she is capable of when winning a medal at the European Indoors, so she is hopefully going to be up there,” said Hennessy. ‘‘Then you have Rob Heffernan and Olive Loughnane in the race walking and Eileen O’Keeffe in the hammer. Rob and Eileen were both top six in Osaka and Olive was our best performer in Beijing, with a seventh place finish. I think we could see some great performances in Berlin.”

The team for the championships was decided following the Woodie’s DIY National Track and Field Championships earlier this month at Santry Stadium. It also includes Roisin McGettigan in the 3,000 metres steeplechase, Alistair Cragg in the 5,000 metres, Jamie Costin and Colin Griffin in the 50 kilometre walk, Deirdre Ryan in the high jump, Deirdre Byrne in the 1,500 metres, Michelle Carey in the 400 metres hurdles and Thomas Chamney in both the 800 metres and 1,500 metres.

However, Hennessy said that, given the standard of competition at the World Championships, the majority of the Irish team would be concentrating on improving their performances, rather than winning medals.

‘‘Getting a medal would be a great achievement, but we have to look at it realistically,” he said. ‘‘When you compete at this level in athletics – whether it is the World Championships or Olympics – it is extremely tough to win a medal. Everything has to go perfectly for an athlete, and we have to remember that this is a world event, so we are up against the best athletes from across the globe.”

He said that, if the Irish team could get a range of finalists and see some personal bests, ‘‘we would be very happy’’. ‘‘That would represent a very successful championship,” he said.

Funding

The focus on track performances this month is welcome for Athletics Ireland, after another year marred by familiar political struggles and funding controversies in the generally eventful world of Irish athletics administration.

Hennessy said that Athletics Ireland was happy with the government funding received this year, although the total amount fell from €1.34 million in 2008 to just over €1 million.

‘‘The money is down from 2008, but that is the same for the majority of national governing bodies and we just have to get on with it like anyone in business,” he said. ‘‘The economic downturn has affected everyone and sport is no different. We are lucky in that [Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism] Martin Cullen fought hard to ensure we were still able to get a similar amount of Irish Sports Council (ISC) funding in 2009, considering the amount of cuts that are happening across the board.”

According to widespread reports earlier in the year, the ISC suspended Athletics Ireland’s annual funding after disagreements over internal staffing and administrative issues between the two bodies, while former Athletics Ireland chief executive Mary Coghlan has alleged that ISC chairman Ossie Kilkenny and chief executive John Treacy were behind her removal from the position in June.

Coghlan is currently pursuing an unfair dismissal case in the High Court, and Hennessy said he could not comment on this issue. However, he maintained that any strains in the relationship between the ISC and Athletics Ireland had been exaggerated by the media.

‘‘There are no issues with the ISC and we have our full funding for 2009,which has helped us to invest in a range of programmes – from high performance right down to grass roots and participation level,” he said. ‘‘We work very closely with the ISC on all aspects of athletics. It has been integral to establishing the programmes and structures we have implemented and the success we have achieved in recent years.”

Brighter prospects

After the World Championships conclude on August 23, Hennessy said that Athletics Ireland’s focus would switch to the European Cross Country Championships, being held in Santry in December.

‘‘Hosting the Spar European Cross Country Championships is a huge honour for Irish athletics,” he said. ‘‘We are hoping to put on a great event for the athletes and the spectators. It is a huge undertaking, but everyone is fully committed to making this a huge success, from Fingal County Council to the Irish Sports Council and Dublin City Council. We are all working together on the event, as we have been for nearly two years now.”

He said that Ireland would have a strong team at the event, with a possibility of success for the home team.

‘‘What makes the event even more exciting is the strength of the Irish team we are going to have there,” he said. ‘‘With athletes of the calibre of Martin Fagan, Mary Cullen and Fionnuala Britton we will have a team capable of winning medals. For these athletes to be able to compete in a European Championships in front of their home crowd will give them a huge boost.”

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Ronaldo to make his Madrid debut in Ireland

Sunday Business Post – Business of Sport page – Jun 14 2009

Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.

Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to make his Real Madrid debut in Ireland. The Portuguese star is expected to complete a €92 million transfer from Manchester United in time to line out alongside his new €65 million teammate Kaka´ for a friendly against Shamrock Rovers at their new Tallaght Stadium next month.

Ronaldo and Kaka´ will be accompanying their new team-mates – including Spanish internationals Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, and Dutch stars Arjen Robben and Ruud van Nistelrooy – on a ten-day preseason training camp at Carton House in Maynooth, organised by Fintan Drury’s sports management company Platinum One.

‘‘The Ronaldo story was fantastic news for us,” said Eamon McLoughlin, head of football at Platinum One. ‘‘We knew from speaking with them early on it was their intention to bring in some top, top players. We’ve done Barcelona in Scotland for the last two years, and all the top players were there: Messi, Henry, Xavi and Iniesta. We cannot know what will happen with injury or illness, but 25 players from Real’s first team squad will be in Maynooth.”

McLoughlin said that Real Madrid would play one match against an Irish team during their trip, but could not yet confirm the date or opposition.

‘‘We are talking to the FAI and the clubs and to South Dublin County Council, before we can release details of the date and the match times,” he said.

It is understood, however, that the game will take place on July 20, and that extra temporary seating will be installed at Tallaght Stadium to allow a 10,000 attendance.

McLoughlin said that Madrid’s Irish trip – which takes place from July 13 to 22 – would form a key part of new first team coach Manuel Pellegrini’s preparations for Madrid’s 2009-10 Primera Liga and Champions League campaigns.

‘‘It is the hardest part of their pre-season, with twice daily intensive sessions,” said McLoughlin. ‘‘It is too warm to do those in Madrid at that time of the year. The new manager’s fitness coaches were in Ireland this week.”

McLoughlin said that Platinum One would be covering all of Madrid’s costs for their time in Ireland.

‘‘We will cover everything from chartering the flight to the training pitches, to the food, civic engagements in Ireland, security and everything else,” he said. ‘‘From the minute they get on the plane in Madrid, to the minute they touch down on return to Madrid, we will control everything. Quite a bit of planning has gone into it.”

In return, the company gets to market all the team’s activities during the training camp, including TV rights for the game, McLoughlin said.

‘‘All management, commercial and media issues around the game would be covered by Platinum One,” he said. ‘‘We will run daily press conferences at Carton House, where we would expect 100-plus media from around the world. The game will be live in Spain and, with the sort of players they are signing, there is a fair chance it will be live in quite a few countries.”

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Nothing taken for granted with GAA

Sunday Business Post – Business of Sport – Jan 11 2009

Read the article on the Sunday Business Post website by clicking here.

The payment of inter county players has long been a bone of contention in GAA circles, and the debate over whether professionalism should be introduced has been one of the associations’ biggest issues over the last number of years. While the Gaelic Players’ Association (GPA) insists it does not want to see hurlers and footballers lose their amateur status, it has fought hard to get compensation for those out of pocket as a result of playing for their county.

After long negotiations, the first government grants to inter-county GAA players were paid out last month, but already there are signs that they could be cut this year.

A total of €3.5 million was shared among 1,800 inter-county footballers and hurlers, with individual payments ranging from €1,400 to €2,500, depending on how many appearances were made in the 2008 All-Ireland championship. The grants are administered by the Irish Sports Council (ISC) on behalf of the government, and distributed by the GAA.

However, sports minister Martin Cullen has signalled that the player grants scheme may be scaled back in 2009, due to the economic downturn.

Dessie Farrell, the GPA’s chief executive and a former inter-county star forward for Dublin’s footballers, said he was confident that there would be no substantial changes to the scheme. ‘‘The ISC has an 8 per cent reduction in its budget, and we would be very happy to work within those parameters,” he said. ‘‘We see no reason why it should go beyond that.”

Farrell said that it had taken a good deal of hard work to persuade all involved to accept the grants scheme.

‘‘It was a very hard-fought concession,” he said. ‘‘We have been campaigning for this since the 2002 Finance Bill, when professional athletes were given lucrative tax breaks. Nonetheless, we are delighted with it.”

Farrell said that the principle involved was more important to players than the amounts being paid. Neither the payments nor the aims of the GPA interfered in any way with the GAA’s amateur ethos.

‘‘The upper levels of the GAA have accepted our acceptance of the amateur status of GAA players, but there is still some scepticism out there,” he said. ‘‘We have gone on record on numerous occasions to insist that we are very happy to see the amateur status retained. There is no hidden agenda.

‘‘You could always do with more funding. But, in this particular instance, we felt that there should be some recognition of the role that intercounty players play within the society.

‘‘We also felt that the revenue generated for the exchequer by these high-profile games should be taken into account.”

Farrell stressed that GPA members were eager to contribute off the pitch, in return for the money coming from the government.

‘‘It is not just a case of players putting their hand out and doing a runner,” he said. ‘‘There is an opportunity to convey very important social messages through high-profile role models. We are currently in discussions with the HSE about a programme involving mental health awareness for the general population. We would like to encourage more take-up from various government departments.”

However, Farrell said that, to keep the prospect of pay-for-play at a distance, there would have to be a certain ‘‘quid pro quo’’ on the part of the authorities – in both Croke Park and Leinster House.

‘‘The basis for the retention of the amateur ethos will be continued government funding, married with the introduction of a comprehensive welfare package for inter-county players,” he said. ‘‘That would be a foundation for players within an amateur context.”
Sponsorship

Farrell said that the GPA signed an agreement with sports marketing and management agency Platinum One last November. ‘‘Platinum One will manage the commercial side of things for us and seek out new sponsorship opportunities,” he said. ‘‘We are happy to hand over our commercial portfolio to a company with vast experience in sports sponsorship and management.”

The GPA currently has commercial relationships with Energise Sport, Halifax and Opel. The latter company’s three-year agreement with the GPA, signed in 2006, is understood to be worth approximately €3 million over three years. No figure was released for the Halifax deal, which was agreed in 2007 and runs for five years.

Farrell said that commercial relationships had been vital in establishing the GPA as a going concern.

‘‘Our ten-year share of revenues agreement with Energise, with what was C&C and is now Britvic, has been a great success for us,” he said.

‘‘Without that, there possibly would be no GPA today. Halifax sponsors our Fair Play award, and is involved with our twinning programme and Gaelic performance summer camps. Opel sponsors our Team of the Year and players’ awards.”

Last year’s Opel footballer of the year was Tyrone’s Sean Cavanagh, while Kilkenny’s Eoin Larkin won the hurling award. Farrell said that being associated with household names such as these was attractive for companies.

‘‘Ultimately, the companies see a huge benefit in being associated with the GPA, because of their involvement with our high-profile members,” he said. ‘‘It is a very attractive proposition for companies wanting that kind of brand exposure and coverage.”

Other work

Farrell said it could be frustrating when people automatically associated the GPA solely with financial matters. He pointed to two less heavily publicised GPA programmes, both of which were introduced last year.

‘‘The Fair Play award focuses on the positive aspects of players’ discipline and on and off-field behaviour,” he said.

‘‘Discipline has been a big problem for the GAA for as long as I can remember, so it is vital that disciplinary issues are tackled at an early age and applied across the board. We see the Fair Play award fitting in well with that.”

‘‘We also launched a twinning programme which pairs strong hurling counties with weaker counties,” Farrell said. ‘‘Players from the stronger counties do coaching sessions in the weaker counties. This programme was devised and implemented by the players themselves. It was hugely successful, yet that seems to get lost in the wash.”

Official recognition

Farrell said the GPA was now focusing its energies on gaining official acceptance from the GAA as the recognised voice of inter-county footballers and hurlers. ‘‘We have been recognised in a de facto capacity for a number of years,” he said.

‘‘The official recognition involves having an official agreement between the GPA and the GAA which recognises the vital role that the GPA fulfils in player welfare and other areas. We would hope in the coming months to ultimately bring that to the final stages.”

Farrell said that this agreement would have to recognise the central role the GPA played in protecting the welfare and rights of its members.

‘‘Through the official negotiations with the GAA, we would like to put in place a very comprehensive player welfare package, with funding from the GAA,” he said. ‘‘Those services would include career development programmes, educational programmes, help with financial planning, and health and wellbeing, including injury, psychological and medical issues.’

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