Dublin footballer Brian Fenton has called for a pay-for-play scheme in the GAA.
Speaking to Irish News, Fenton said he favours a semi-professional system, where players received some monetary benefit for playing while maintaining the GAA'a amateur status.
In Ireland, it is an amateur game and we play it for the love of it, but it doesn't put bread on the table and we have to work to do that.
Playing and training in the sunshine and getting paid for it is an attraction to some but not to me.
I love the culture of the GAA and the voluntarism so I wouldn't change that.
Fenton was speaking in relation to the temptation of forging a professional career in Australia. He suggested a pay-per-game basis as a happy middle-ground:
Young players could be paid a fee per game to encourage them to stay at home instead of heading off to the States during the summer.
When a county is knocked out of the Championship early many players head off but, if they were to get a fee for playing on at home, it would, I believe, encourage many to remain.
The GAA is not short of money.
The GAA's amateur status has been a source of debate for a number of years now. Sponsorship deals, pay-per-view games, payment of managers and most recently testimonial dinners have been highlighted as issues diluting that status.
Fenton has just finished another long season which culminated in his third All-Ireland medal. He also denied that the Dublin footballers collectively turned down the international rules, stating it came down to each player's commitments.
You can read the full interview here.
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