GPA chief Dessie Farrell has stressed once again the importance of the GAA formally recognising the Gaelic Players' Association. Farrell made an impassionate plea at the annual awards ceremony at Citywest on Friday night to the GAA to accept that the GPA was here to stay and that further conflicts between players and county board will be avoided in the future. "The time has come for the GAA to grasp the opportunity to move relations with players on to a new level," he said. "As we have witnessed this year, there has been no let-up in the number of disputes between players and officials." "However, the problems elsewhere will continue unless we establish proper structures and procedures to address the absence of trust between player and official. This can only be achieved through official recognition for the GPA. "Amateurism may indeed be a core value for every GAA member, but just because we accept amateurism does not mean that we accept players to be treated in an amateur way. "With this in mind, the GAA will have to reach an agreement with the GPA and provide the funding that will enable us to cater for our players in key areas such as career development, employment programmes, health and well-being services, insurance and further education initiatives." Tweet

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