THE CAVAN LADIES have announced that they will not be fulfilling their Division 2 clash with Tyrone later today, as their ongoing dispute with the county board has not been resolved.

Their decision was revealed in an open letter to clubs and supporters, which was released via the GPA.

Members of the team spoke out about their issues on the ‘We Are Cavan’ podcast earlier this week, saying that the county board were not honouring their commitment to a squad charter which covered a range of areas including gear, expenses and player welfare.

Team captain Neasa Byrd, along with teammates Lauren McVeety and Aishling Sheridan gave an extensive interview about the frustrations of the team, and admitted that strike action had been considered by the panel.

The open letter states that there has been “positive engagement” since the players spoke publicly about the issues affecting the group, but that they are not willing to play until the problems are fully resolved.

The letter also adds that the squad is aware of the “potential consequences” involved in not fulfilling today’s fixture. The official LGFA rulebook states that “a team that fails to fulfil a fixture, having received official notification, and fails to give 2 days’ notice in written or in electronic form, of its intended default, to the appropriate Secretary, may be subject to sanction under the CODA Rules.”

The full letter from the Cavan Ladies reads:

“To the clubs and supporters of Cavan ladies football.

“It is with deep regret that we will not fulfil today’s Lidl National League Division 2 fixture against Tyrone.

“As you are most likely aware, a written agreement that we signed up to in good faith with our county board has not been honoured.

“We have made numerous attempts to have the minimum standards set out in the agreement adhered to but unfortunately this has not happened.

“While there has been positive engagement since the issues involved were brought to light, we now want to see it backed up by action and these minimum standards finally implemented.

“We are not prepared to play until the issues have been fully resolved as we have been let down as regards promises and commitments previously.

“We communicated our position to the County Board Executive yesterday. We have subsequently been informed and are aware of the potential consequences of not playing.

“We want what’s best for ourselves and girls playing club football in Cavan now who will some day line out for our county. The girls and women in Cavan deserve to have promises kept and to be treated with respect. It’s imperative we protect those who are most vulnerable, including student members of our squad.

“We are proud to represent our county and pull on the Cavan jersey. Taking a decision to withdraw from a game is not something we do lightly. However, given the current circumstances, we feel we do not have any other option.

“We hope you, the clubs and supporters of ladies football in our county will understand our decision.

“We hope the issues can be resolved to allow us get back to what we want to do, represent our great county.

“We apologise to our fellow players from Tyrone for any inconvenience caused.

“The Cavan senior ladies football panel.”

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