GAA distances itself from Masters final

Croke Park has distanced itself from a Gaelic Masters Association football final which is scheduled to take place this Saturday between Galway and Mayo.

The Gaelic Masters Association promotes itself as the competitive intercounty tournament for footballers over the age of 40, and the final is set for this Saturday at the Clonberne Community Sports Field in Galway.

Galway are looking to win the competition for the third year in a row, while Mayo last won the competition back in 2009.

Cavan and Tyrone will also line out on the day in the Masters Shield final.

Not sanctioned

However, a spokesperson for Croke Park has said the competition is not sanctioned by the GAA.

Therefore it’s not covered by the GAA insurance, or the GAA player injury scheme, and it is not being played on official GAA grounds.

“We used to have a masters competition, but that came to an end,” according to Croke Park.

“There were a few reasons for that, but primarily over insurance costs, and the difficulty in obtaining proper cover, for players of that age, who wanted to play in a competitive environment.

“That cost was substantial, and would have to be spread across all clubs, and would have substantially increased insurance costs for clubs at minor, under-21 and all other grades as well.”

The GAA does still promote a masters’ competition, albeit less competitive, under its social and recreational games initiative.

Highly competitive

In the meantime the Gaelic Masters Association are promising a highly competitive game on Saturday.

"This will showcase the phenomenal interest and passion that Gaelic players still have in playing our native games despite their age," said chairperson of the Gaelic Masters Association, James Breslin.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the effort and work of the Gaelic Masters Association and to encourage more counties to get involved with the competition.”