Leitrim GAA record deficit of €139,563 for 2022 as County Teams costs break €800,000 barrier

Leitrim GAA returned a deficit of over €139,000 for the past 12 months as the spend on the county’s inter-county teams rose above €800,000 according to figures released at Thursday’s Leitrim GAA County Board Convention in The Bush Hotel on Thursday evening.

In the first in-person Convention held since the advent of Covid, County Board Treasurer Martin McCartin revealed that the Board returned a deficit of €139,563 for the 12 months up to September 30, 2022 compared to a surplus of €317,344 for the 11 months up to September 30, 2021.

Of the deficit of €139,563 incurred for the past year, the accounts show that €64,188 of that figure is accounted for under “Depreciation & Amortisation” which brings the figure to an operating deficit of €75,375 compared to a surplus the previous period of €382,930.

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Some of the eye catching details in a comprehensive report include €803,729 being spent on County Team administration, a figure that includes all county teams from Senior Football & Hurling and U20 & Minor Football, a rise of €524,503 from €279,226 the previous year.

However, comparisons with the 2021 campaign are skewed somewhat by the fact that the 2021 season featured a shortened League campaign and a straight knockout championship while Minor and U20 competitions were drastically reduced due to Covid restrictions.

Players mileage expenses increased from €71,228 to €223,491 while team meals & catering cost €100,528, up from €38,701 in 2021. Sports gear cost €93,454, up from €37,072, while Strength & Condition rose from €9,900 to €48,171 in 2022. 

Team managers and selectors expenses rose from €48,664 in 2021 to €147,178 over the past year. In response to a question from a delegate about the breakdown of the County Team Administration costs between the four squads, Mr McCartin revealed that the Senior Football team accounted for 50% of the expenditure and that 16 personnel are now included in that figure between all four teams.

In relation to players’ mileage expenses, Mr McCartin pointed out that due to Covid regulations, there was no car pooling over the previous 12 months but under the new GAA - GPA agreement, there would be a push to get that back in place. He also highlighted the increasing costs of travel, food and overnight stays.

Match Day costs also saw a big increase with the return of full schedules at club level with the entire figure rising to €91,832 in 2022, up from €37,443 the previous year. Costs for match officials rose from €21,950 to €39,674 while Streaming costs rose from €5,430 to €12,339, although streaming did bring in €19,500, up from €4,801 the previous year.

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Gate receipts from Senior Club Football showed a massive increase as Covid restrictions eased with €109,274 taken in during 2022 compared to €36,265 the previous year. Underage gate receipts rose from €3,309 to €10,425 while club hurling gate receipts came to €2,540.

The Leitrim Supporters Club saw a small decrease on the amount raised with €97,166 coming in compared to €100,388 the previous year while the 50 Miles in January Challenge fundraiser saw a massive increase with the 2022 campaign raising €164,020 and €30,461 (New York Challenge) compared to €87,542 and €17,339.

Overall fundraising activities brought in €291,861 in 2022 compared to €293,428 the previous but considering that the 2021 figure included €83,551 from the “Win a Wedding in Lough Rynn” fundraiser, 2022 can be considered to be quite a strong year for fundraising for Leitrim GAA.

One area where Leitrim GAA did show a big loss, a fact predicted by Martin McCartan in his 2021 report, was in Government funding with the Government Funding in 2021, which amounted to €76,920, not repeated this year while the Wages Subsidy also decreased from €24,282 to €9,912, an overall drop of €91,290 in income.

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One area of income that did show a massive increase, although it is not good news, was fines with the County Board taking in €3,250 in fines compared to €200 for the previous year. Summer Camp income also rose from €68,246 to €85,955.