McCartin warns inter-county funding is unsustainable despite surplus of over €250,000 for Leitrim GAA in 2023

Leitrim GAA recorded a surplus of over a quarter of a million euro in 2023 but amidst an increase of over €157,000 in County Team Administration costs, Treasurer Martin McCartin has warned unless counties receive help in meeting rising team costs, the financial situation is unsustainable for counties like Leitrim.

Speaking at Thursday’s Leitrim GAA County Board Convention in the Bush Hotel, Mr McCartin urged delegates to exercise caution over the surplus of €254,195 for the past year, saying that the surplus contained an once-off payment of over €216,138 thanks to Leitrim GAA’s Patron Fund and a €90,000 grant for trip to New York for the Connacht SFC.

“It would be wrong to leave this room thinking that everything is hunky-dory, looking at the surplus,” Mr McCartin told delegates, “We are already looking at a deficit of €150,000 for next year and we can’t continue to operate like this.

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“We have been saying this to Croke Park for the last three years and nobody has done anything about it. We have asked for meetings and for support but Croke Park must have forgotten about the meeting because nothing has been done. If we keep continuing as we are, our funds will be wiped out.”

Leitrim County Board’s total income came to a total of €1,914,347 for the year with €1,610,400 in expenditure with County Team Administration costs, which includes the Senior Football and Hurling teams, the U20 and Minor Football teams and all development teams, coming in at €960,762, an increase from €803,729 in 2022.

The Treasurer also revealed that 26% of Leitrim’s total income was thanks to fundraising, a figure he said was “not sustainable going forward” and that without The Patron’s Fund, whose steering committee includes Senior Football manager Andy Moran, former Leitrim team sponsor Seamus Clarke and former players Eamonn Duignan and Joe Leydon, the Board would be in “big trouble”.

The Patron’s Fund accounted for €216,138 of the total fundraising figure of €492,516. The 50 Miles in January campaign in 2023 raised a total of €182,299, up from €164,020 the previous year, but there was a small decrease as the New York 50 Mile Challenge fundraiser, which raised €30,461 in 2022, did not take place. The Leitrim Supporters Club brought in €89,652, down from €97,166 the previous year.

The Treasurer also revealed that the nine weeks of the Tailteann Cup campaign cost Leitrim GAA €16,600 per week with Croke Park refunding €23,000 prompting Mr McCartin to comment that if Central Council did not come up with a better funding policy for counties, they may be forced to pull out of competitions.

Mr McCartin said that Leitrim, Fermanagh, Sligo and Longford were four counties who saw 40% of their players’ travelling expenses met by Croke Park but he appealed to the authorities to increase funding to less resourced smaller counties who cannot match the fundraising ability of their neighbours.

Gate receipts for the year brought in €168,780 while Streaming Income brought in an additional €37,782.

Figures for the County Team Administration costs were broken down into €584,147 for the Senior football team; €216,319 for the Senior Hurling team; €64,825 for the U20 footballers and €60,696 for the U17 footballers.

Mr McCartin said that with four trips overseas for Leitrim teams in 2023, the increase in costs was outside the County Board’s control but in real terms, their County Team Administration costs had probably decreased when the New York trip was taken into account.

Players kilometre expenses showed a decrease from €223,491 in 2022 to €183,321 last year. Bus and flights, including the trip to New York, were €100,411, up from €33,244 the previous year. Team Meals & Catering came to €145,273, up from €100,528 in 2022. 

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Team managers & selectors expenses came to €163,057, up from €147,178 the previous year. Team Administration costs rose from €5,965 to €27,470. Sports Gear cost €74,050, down from €93,454, but this figure was off-set by a gear allowance of €40,000 and royalties of €30,000 from McKeever Sports.

Mr McCartin warned that unless something was done to help counties with the increasing costs of inter-county teams, particularly in relation to players’ kilometre expenses, counties would be forced to prioritise what competitions they could compete in.