Pat Spillane Uses Caoimhín Kelleher Example To Sum Up How GAA Should Handle AFL Moves

There was news of two big departures from the GAA this morning, with it being revealed that rising stars Kobe McDonald and Ben Murphy were set to join AFL clubs over the coming months.

McDonald has been arguably the story of club championship season, with the 17-year old starring for Crossmolina Deel Rovers in their run to a Mayo senior semi-final. Murphy also helped Austin Stacks to a Kerry county final in recent weeks, with the two youngsters set to join St Kilda and Brisbane Lions respectively.

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The path from the GAA to the AFL has been a well trodden one down through the years, with a number of top Gaelic football prospects going Down Under in the pursuit of a professional sports career.

While they are full entitled to do so, some are now wondering whether the clubs that brought through those players should also benefit in some way.

Writing in the Sunday World, Pat Spillane suggested that GAA clubs should receive a monetary fee for their players if they sign for an AFL club. He would give an example of a recent soccer transfer involving an Irish player as to the model that could potentially be followed.

The only gripe I see is the Australians are getting these young fellas scot-free and without paying compensation to the club that nurtured and developed them.

Let’s take a look at the process in soccer, where once a transfer goes through, a player’s schoolboy club benefits financially.

The recent example of Caoimhín Kelleher going from Liverpool to Brentford saw £3m in compensation make its way to his childhood club, Ringmahon Rangers.

This is the way we should go in the GAA. The GAA and the AFL must put an agreement in place that financial compensation is paid not to the county board, but to the club who nurtured the player.

Caoimhín Kelleher joined Liverpool from Ringmahon Rovers as a teenager, with the Cork club inserting a 25 per cent sell-on clause in the deal at the time.

Of course, such clauses are commonplace in soccer. As amateur players, it would be entirely more difficult for the GAA to create a similar framework for youngsters who opt to pursue a career in the AFL.

Still, it does seem only right that GAA clubs should be compensated for the countless hours they put in to producing such talents.