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Man Utd V Leeds Utd - Croke Park

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Replying To ponger:  "Well how many times do we fill it every year... So why not fill it when its available and get a Kings ransom.

But to your other question. I still say this split season is fundamentally wrong and I've said it from Day 1"
What do you suggest instead?

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20472 - 14/08/2026 07:10:11    2689796

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Replying To eoinog:  "200 for 2 tickets for the Pinnacle of the Gaelic football season was great value.
Yesterday evening you gave over half that to see basically 2 junior teams playing. Neither side was at full strength and there was nothing at stake"
Here is another way of looking at it.

Professional Football pays its players , Bruno Fernandez gets £300,000 per week alone, yet they charged less than €100 for a ticket to Croke park

GAA NOT professional , David Clifford get paid €0.00 per week, yet Croke Park charge €100 a ticket for the all Ireland

ulsterrules (Donegal) - Posts: 332 - 14/08/2026 08:32:47    2689802

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Replying To ulsterrules:  "Here is another way of looking at it.

Professional Football pays its players , Bruno Fernandez gets £300,000 per week alone, yet they charged less than €100 for a ticket to Croke park

GAA NOT professional , David Clifford get paid €0.00 per week, yet Croke Park charge €100 a ticket for the all Ireland"
One was a friendly, the other was the pinnacle of our game. Try getting the best champions league final ticket for €100.

WanPintWin (Galway) - Posts: 3001 - 14/08/2026 09:18:00    2689810

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Replying To ponger:  "Well how many times do we fill it every year... So why not fill it when its available and get a Kings ransom.

But to your other question. I still say this split season is fundamentally wrong and I've said it from Day 1"
Fundamentally wrong is a bit strong, a lot of us might prefer the September finals, but Fundamentally wrong?

sligo joe (Dublin) - Posts: 1176 - 14/08/2026 09:42:50    2689816

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Replying To WanPintWin:  "One was a friendly, the other was the pinnacle of our game. Try getting the best champions league final ticket for €100."
One is a professional sport that takes in millions from gate receipts and sponsors etc and pays players millions a year

the other is a volunteer led organisation that takes in millions from gate receipts and sponsors and pay the players nothing.

ulsterrules (Donegal) - Posts: 332 - 14/08/2026 10:22:45    2689823

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Replying To ulsterrules:  "Here is another way of looking at it.

Professional Football pays its players , Bruno Fernandez gets £300,000 per week alone, yet they charged less than €100 for a ticket to Croke park

GAA NOT professional , David Clifford get paid €0.00 per week, yet Croke Park charge €100 a ticket for the all Ireland"
Yes Bruno gets 300k but it's a global sport.
Gaelic game's is not.
The FAI is a mess.
I would much rather be affiliated to a well run organization like the GAA than a lame duck like the FAI.
I have no idea how many staff the GAA have on their books that need to get paid

eoinog (Sligo) - Posts: 2560 - 14/08/2026 10:50:32    2689828

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Replying To Viking66:  "Ive a feeling hes talking about the hurling final."
Good man Viking66. You're one of our own.

Saynothing (Tyrone) - Posts: 2934 - 14/08/2026 11:05:50    2689834

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Replying To ORIELMAN85:  "Doesn't make it a great championship.
A lot of close games,but mediocre quality. Two Ulster titles in 60 years."
That's true.

If Tyrone Senior Football Championship is "best in Ireland" because of "13 different winners in little over 20 years with no back to backs in 25 years", then Wexford Senior Football Championship must be in the running for second best.

We've had 12 different winners in little over 20 years, and until Castletown completed a two-in-a-row last year, no back-to-back since 2005/'06.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3873 - 14/08/2026 11:19:41    2689843

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Replying To Viking66:  "Ive a feeling hes talking about the hurling final."
Yes I was :)

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3873 - 14/08/2026 11:21:56    2689844

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Replying To Saynothing:  "Mayo won this year's All Ireland after 3/4 of a century and every Mayo supporter respected the rule of not going onto the pitch. Soccer enters town and it's open house. Disgusting."
"Soccer enters town and it's open house. Disgusting". Ah stop. Mayo Mick caused a bigger scene down in the Gaelic Grounds and ended up a minor celebrity off the back of it.

streaker (Galway) - Posts: 593 - 14/08/2026 11:49:07    2689852

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Replying To ulsterrules:  "One is a professional sport that takes in millions from gate receipts and sponsors etc and pays players millions a year

the other is a volunteer led organisation that takes in millions from gate receipts and sponsors and pay the players nothing."
All Ireland final our pinnacle sporting event.....Man Utd v Leeds in a meaningless friendly. Bruno Fernandez, like all of the pro soccer players, plays for a soulless multi million sporting investment franchise with no real ties to their clubs bar the lucrative contract...you can't actually put a price on what the GAA has with the club and county scene when it comes to local loyalties and players being ordinary local lads. That 100 euro gets redistributed back to the clubs and allows our game to avoid all the grubbiness that comes with professionalism.

Look at League of Ireland for a window into how things can go when it comes to professional sport in Ireland. No doubt it is entertaining and the quality has dramatically improved, but you have Derry shambolically run. Dundalk huge fall from grace and nearly ran into the ground. The successes and failures of a club determined by the competency of their owners, many of who are just looking at it from an investment point of view. Is that what we really want in the GAA?

FullOfPorter (Roscommon) - Posts: 575 - 14/08/2026 11:58:25    2689855

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Replying To eoinog:  "Yes Bruno gets 300k but it's a global sport.
Gaelic game's is not.
The FAI is a mess.
I would much rather be affiliated to a well run organization like the GAA than a lame duck like the FAI.
I have no idea how many staff the GAA have on their books that need to get paid"
Bruno has no all Stars.

Best athlete is saw Wednesday night was Dee O'Keefe on the dart

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4642 - 14/08/2026 12:14:03    2689858

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I dont know if anyone has asked or knows the answer . But why was nt the game played in the aviva the home of rugby .
Seriously though was it purely a financial decision larger capacity etc .
Surely if the fai want to gain momentum and earn money the blueprint for a preseason tournament it's the way to go to earn huge monetary rewards .
Who organised the game in croker a club the fai , croke park or was it just an independent promoter/company
If a promoter i m sure they ve crunched the numbers and realised it was a massive money spinner .
Be interesting to see if it repeats next year knowing g they could ve sold out more will the tickets see an increase in price by 25% at least.
Even after paying for croke park and the teams involved they surely made a killing .
Either way i would nt have any interest in going .
80000 tickets sold at say 75 euro average thats
6Million without sponsors etc . Nice earner .
Yes there are huge overheads but maybe gaa should run it themselves in future . Rather than just providing the greatest stadium in the country and nake even more money out of them .
So we can live rent free in peoples heads and charge them too .

Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 663 - 14/08/2026 12:56:11    2689861

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Replying To streaker:  ""Soccer enters town and it's open house. Disgusting". Ah stop. Mayo Mick caused a bigger scene down in the Gaelic Grounds and ended up a minor celebrity off the back of it."
Personally I love a good GAA pitch invasion. That pitch and ground belongs to all of us. Wonderful memories of 96 and 04 in particular.

I have been contributing my whole life and my family for generations. Supporters and players sharing joy at HQ every couple of decades is magical.

Doylerwex (Wexford) - Posts: 4642 - 14/08/2026 13:07:05    2689864

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Replying To FullOfPorter:  "All Ireland final our pinnacle sporting event.....Man Utd v Leeds in a meaningless friendly. Bruno Fernandez, like all of the pro soccer players, plays for a soulless multi million sporting investment franchise with no real ties to their clubs bar the lucrative contract...you can't actually put a price on what the GAA has with the club and county scene when it comes to local loyalties and players being ordinary local lads. That 100 euro gets redistributed back to the clubs and allows our game to avoid all the grubbiness that comes with professionalism.

Look at League of Ireland for a window into how things can go when it comes to professional sport in Ireland. No doubt it is entertaining and the quality has dramatically improved, but you have Derry shambolically run. Dundalk huge fall from grace and nearly ran into the ground. The successes and failures of a club determined by the competency of their owners, many of who are just looking at it from an investment point of view. Is that what we really want in the GAA?"
Rugby is professional and is well run. Amateur or professional doesn't determine if a sport is run well or badly. Some League of Ireland clubs are well run. Our county board taxed our clubs because they paid too much to upgrade McHale Park, a stadout that will never be full to it's oversized capacity for a football match.

GreenandRed (Mayo) - Posts: 8700 - 14/08/2026 13:16:46    2689870

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Replying To Formertownie:  "I dont know if anyone has asked or knows the answer . But why was nt the game played in the aviva the home of rugby .
Seriously though was it purely a financial decision larger capacity etc .
Surely if the fai want to gain momentum and earn money the blueprint for a preseason tournament it's the way to go to earn huge monetary rewards .
Who organised the game in croker a club the fai , croke park or was it just an independent promoter/company
If a promoter i m sure they ve crunched the numbers and realised it was a massive money spinner .
Be interesting to see if it repeats next year knowing g they could ve sold out more will the tickets see an increase in price by 25% at least.
Even after paying for croke park and the teams involved they surely made a killing .
Either way i would nt have any interest in going .
80000 tickets sold at say 75 euro average thats
6Million without sponsors etc . Nice earner .
Yes there are huge overheads but maybe gaa should run it themselves in future . Rather than just providing the greatest stadium in the country and nake even more money out of them .
So we can live rent free in peoples heads and charge them too ."
These pre-season friendlies are organised and run by the clubs themselves or by independent promoters. They'd look at what teams might be available to play and what grounds might be available to rent in locations where there might be money to be made.

I believe Manchester United themselves were the main organisers of this one. Their number-crunches would have identified Leeds as potential opponents and agreed to pay them a certain amount to travel over to play. Would also have identified Dublin as a "handy" place to likely get a sell-out crowd due to large Man United support here and the fact that they hadn't been here in a few years.

As regards the venue, they may well have sought a price too from IRFU/FAI for the rent of the Aviva Stadium. And then thought "x amount to rent that one and sell 50,000 tickets....or y amount to rent that one and sell 82,000 tickets....let's go for the bigger one".

GAA would have had little or nothing to do with it other than agreeing the rent and fulfilling whatever other terms were written into the agreement. FAI would have had even less.

If GAA was to try arrange such a thing as an independent promoter, they'd have to approach clubs first, agree an appearance fee (could be millions) that they'd have to pay them no matter what, and take charge of everything else involved in having the match too, such as policing, sponsorship, TV, etc.

I've no objection myself to the GAA making Croke Park available for a soccer match or anything else at a time that suits, and making money from renting out the ground.

But I would object to them arranging such a thing themselves. I wouldn't be happy with GAA time and resources being put into arranging a soccer match or a concert or a boxing match instead of being put into the running and oversight of our own games.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3873 - 14/08/2026 13:42:52    2689876

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Replying To Doylerwex:  "Personally I love a good GAA pitch invasion. That pitch and ground belongs to all of us. Wonderful memories of 96 and 04 in particular.

I have been contributing my whole life and my family for generations. Supporters and players sharing joy at HQ every couple of decades is magical."
Oh absolutely, I do as well.
I was just highlighting the unnecessary sensationalism of it being labelled "disgusting" just because it was a soccer match.

streaker (Galway) - Posts: 593 - 14/08/2026 14:03:35    2689878

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Replying To Pikeman96:  "These pre-season friendlies are organised and run by the clubs themselves or by independent promoters. They'd look at what teams might be available to play and what grounds might be available to rent in locations where there might be money to be made.

I believe Manchester United themselves were the main organisers of this one. Their number-crunches would have identified Leeds as potential opponents and agreed to pay them a certain amount to travel over to play. Would also have identified Dublin as a "handy" place to likely get a sell-out crowd due to large Man United support here and the fact that they hadn't been here in a few years.

As regards the venue, they may well have sought a price too from IRFU/FAI for the rent of the Aviva Stadium. And then thought "x amount to rent that one and sell 50,000 tickets....or y amount to rent that one and sell 82,000 tickets....let's go for the bigger one".

GAA would have had little or nothing to do with it other than agreeing the rent and fulfilling whatever other terms were written into the agreement. FAI would have had even less.

If GAA was to try arrange such a thing as an independent promoter, they'd have to approach clubs first, agree an appearance fee (could be millions) that they'd have to pay them no matter what, and take charge of everything else involved in having the match too, such as policing, sponsorship, TV, etc.

I've no objection myself to the GAA making Croke Park available for a soccer match or anything else at a time that suits, and making money from renting out the ground.

But I would object to them arranging such a thing themselves. I wouldn't be happy with GAA time and resources being put into arranging a soccer match or a concert or a boxing match instead of being put into the running and oversight of our own games."
Much as i thought was the case just was nt sure . .
But if theres money to be made from it why not look into it all extra revinues could be pumped back in . Theres no sdntiment in money .
.but yes dont want to take from headquarters dividing too much attention outside their own workload or interfere with our season
I suppose if u can get up to 1m euro or possibly more from just rent it why not.
Like the Katie Taylor fight promoters its all about how much he can make and trying to get the public outcry going to try get a reduced rent fee so he can maximise his profit margin . I m sure he has crunched his numbers and knows what he needs to get it for to
See if its economically viable.
We all know gaa only fills it a hand full of times a year and a half empty stadium does not add to atmosphere .
So let them rent it as often as possible so that its kept in good condition as a jewel in the Gaa Crown . And there for is and our families going forward .
Long live the FAI and their ineptitude

Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 663 - 14/08/2026 14:20:00    2689879

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Replying To GreenandRed:  "Rugby is professional and is well run. Amateur or professional doesn't determine if a sport is run well or badly. Some League of Ireland clubs are well run. Our county board taxed our clubs because they paid too much to upgrade McHale Park, a stadout that will never be full to it's oversized capacity for a football match."
County boards are by no means perfect and plenty of mistakes made, we ended up in big debt a while back as well. But at the end of the day they are volunteers, the organisation remains community based no matter what happens and no US investor is discarding the teams when all goes wrong. I'm not sure if it unique to Ireland but professional rugby in Ireland seems to be controlled by the governing body with only four teams to manage where producing players for the national team is the main objective. Fair play to them but I feel absolutely no affinity with Connacht rugby. Following the GAA is an antidote to aloof nature of professional sport that lacks the community feel which the GAA has. I think going pro will eliminate that.

FullOfPorter (Roscommon) - Posts: 575 - 14/08/2026 14:35:45    2689883

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Am i the only one here who think that Croke park is being OVERUSED for gaelic games?


Yes the united game was a meaningless farce,and yes i would personally agree that the fact it sold out is a bit embarrassing, but the fact is it sold out,and it makes more sense to schedule a sellout concert or soccer/boxing match there than it does to schedule a sparsely attended Leinster championship match or league match there,with no atmosphere and an ocean of empty seats.

Seniorleague (Galway) - Posts: 268 - 14/08/2026 15:11:56    2689889

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