Philip Jordan has claimed the GPA "would support a professional county game if the money was there to fund it."

In his Irish News column today, the former Tyrone star predicts that a semi-professional game will be sustainable in the near future. However, he hopes it won't come to that.

"As demands on players increase and the influx of money to the GAA rises too, we will inevitably need to deal with the possibility of the sport going professional," he writes.

"I believe a day will come that there will be sufficient money to fund at least a semi-professional game. The question then will be: do we want it?"

The three-time All-Ireland winner revealed that he cancelled his GPA membership when the players' body sought grants from the Government and also threatened to go on strike arising from discontent at the stalling of negotiations in relation to the distribution of the grants in 2007.

"Once the GPA began to look for grants from the Irish Government and threatened strike action, I felt compelled to cancel my membership of the GPA," he continued.

"There is no doubt they have and continue to do some excellent work in looking after the welfare of county players. Threatening to go on strike was a step too far for me, though.

"Why would I refuse to play for my county? I'd spent countless years working towards achieving my dream of pulling on a Tyrone jersey." Tweet

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