February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Given the lack of available role models in the recent history of the FAI — unless he needs examples of how to misuse the corporate credit card — Delaney need look no further than GAA President Sean Kelly to learn how to properly run a massive Irish sports organization in the 21st Century. Apart from keeping a steady hand on the tiller at all times during his tenure, a feature of Kelly’s style is that he always foregoes the temptation to play the populist card. Witness his latest contribution to the debate on whether the top players in hurling and football can be paid for what they do.
“Endorsements are allowed and encouraged and if players with high profiles can earn a few bob, then that is great,” Kelly said. “No pay for play, but ample recognition otherwise is desirable. Clubs and counties often give pocket money to players when they go on holidays or get on an international team and I know that players appreciate that very much. Professionalism is about one God — money — and where that God holds sway we have great exploitation and corruption in the name of sport. God help us! Why change something great for something worse?”
Young footballers and hurlers the length and breadth of the island, brought up reading newspaper accounts of the five-figure sums earned by mediocre Premiership stars, will have been disgusted at that statement. Just the same as there were county board apparatchiks of a different generation fuming a while back about Kelly admitting a personal preference for opening Croke Park to soccer and rugby internationals. This is the mark of a proper leader. He says what he actually believes instead of what he thinks people want to hear.
Delaney has been knocking around the FAI long enough at this point to know that too few of his fellow officers have adopted the Kelly approach down the years. It would be a refreshing change then if he did. Who knows? It might even prompt an epidemic of truth-telling and honesty to sweep through Merrion Square and revolutionize the way the garrison game is run in this country.
While Delaney has proven himself adept at playing the media, he should keenly study the way in which Kelly deals with politicians. Given the FAI’s current and justified low standing with the government, he’d do well to flick through transcripts of the GAA head honcho’s appearances before Dail committees. Scoff as we may at the level of sports knowledge evinced by some members of these select groups, the ability to perform in front of the politicians in Leinster House is an essential part of any sports executive’s job.
When Kelly fetched up before the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs a few weeks back, he delivered a paper on “Volunteers and the GAA” that was a classic of the genre.
“The association was founded in 1884 on a voluntary and amateur basis and has continued in that way since,” Kelly said. “It consists of approximately 2,000 clubs in Ireland, 100 clubs throughout the world and 500,000 members. It has developed and grown. On a largely voluntary basis it has put an infrastructure in place, of which the association can be proud and which is the envy of every other organization. It owns property valued at