THE COST OF fielding inter-county teams continues to rise across the country, although those expenses have been offset by increased commercial and fundraising activities in many cases.
Mayo, Kerry and Wexford are among the counties who registered a surplus this year, despite a rise in their total expenditure.
In a report released by the county board, Wexford revealed their team costs shot up by €250,000 in 2017, where they spent €945,224 on their hurling and football teams compared to €695,891 in 2016.
2017 was Davy Fitzgerald’s first year in charge of the county, where he led them to the Division 1 league semi-finals, Leinster final and All-Ireland quarter-finals, while Seamus McEnaney’s footballers made the Division 4 league final.
Wexford did register an income increase of €447,135, from €2,578,981 in 2016 to €3,026,116 this year, with €150,000 of that rise due to sponsorship and fundraising efforts.
In Mayo, the Connacht Telegraph reported today that the total expenditure on county teams was €1,514,857 for the year, with Stephen Rochford’s senior football squad responsible for €1,123,995 of that total.
This year’s figure includes the team holiday to South Africa later this month. Overall Mayo recorded a surplus of €203,275, which is an increase of €115,946 on the previous year.
The Irish Examiner reported on Wednesday that the Kerry team expenses crept over the €1m mark for the first time this year, with a leap to €1,030,443 from the 2016 figure of €997,762.
The rise was mainly down to them reaching the Division 1 league final, as well as the All-Ireland semi-final replay against Mayo. Training expenses for the senior footballers rose from €289,935 to €311,182.
The Examiner also reported that the cost of preparing Cork’s inter-county teams rose from €1.37m in 2016 to €1.74m for 2017, although the figure in 2015 was €1.44m. The run of Kieran Kingston’s senior hurlers to the All-Ireland semi-final contributed to the new figure, while the minor and U17 hurlers also reached All-Ireland finals.
Meanwhile, it was revealed by the Leinster Express this week that expenditure on Offaly’s county teams was €694,147, while Laois spent €698,644 on their teams.
The 2016 GAA/GPA agreement for additional mileage being paid to players has been cited as a factor in many financial reports for the increase in team expenses.
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