GAA News: Ticket Prices Confirmed, Paywall Decision Defended, Andrews Tips Dublin

Excitement is mounting among sports fans in Ireland, with the road to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) championship games set to begin in earnest next month.

With that in mind, we take a look at some of the headline news from the GAA over the past few days, starting with details about ticket prices for 2024.

GAA Confirms 2024 Ticket Prices

The GAA has announced its ticket prices for the 2024 season, which still represent excellent value despite a slight increase on the adult rate. Tickets for Division 1 and 2 of the Allianz Football League and Division 1 of the Allianz Hurling League are now priced at €20 for adults, a €2 increase from last year.

However, prices for old age pensioners and students have dropped from €16 to €15, while entry to most fixtures will be free of charge for Under-16s.

Football season tickets remain priced at €150, while hurling season tickets are €140. A GAA season ticket covers all Allianz League fixtures for a chosen county. It also includes Allianz League semi-finals and finals, AIB All-Ireland Club finals and guaranteed access to a county’s championship fixtures.

A season ticket also gives holders access to an All-Ireland final ticket if the county reaches the final and selected qualification criteria is met. The opening championship match will no longer be included as part of the season ticket offering, which is undoubtedly a blow to fans of the more successful teams. 

Paywall Decision Defended by the GAA

While ticket prices for GAA games remain extremely competitive, the organisation has come under fire for its decision to put live streams of 38 championship matches behind a paywall.

Three-time All-Ireland champion Donal Og Cusack and Labour sports spokesperson Mark Wall led the calls for the GAA to rethink its decision, claiming it would be detrimental to the competitions.

However, the GAA’s Director of Communications Alan Milton defended the move, saying that giving away media rights for free is not commercially viable. He pointed out that more than three-quarters of games will remain free-to-air in 2024, but says the revenues generated by the paywalled matches are vital to the GAA’s future.

“If you’re building stadiums in Belfast, Newbridge, Waterford, Dundalk and Meath, you simply have to pay your bills and plan for the future,” Milton said. “If we want to do the things we want to do, and we want to grow and put coaches into schools and clubs, the GAA has to be commercially savvy.

“It’s not the reason we exist but it absolutely makes sense that we get value for money. I think we’d have a case to answer to our members if we didn’t have that approach.”

All-Ireland Legend Tips Dublin to go Back-to-Back

Seven-time All-Ireland winner Paddy Andrews has backed former team Dublin to claim back-to-back titles in the senior football championship in 2024. Dublin beat Kerry to win the title last season and are one of the favourites with leading online bookmakers in Ireland to repeat the feat next year.

According to gaabetting.ie, a respected comparison site for Irish betting platforms, Dublin can be backed at odds of 11/4 to lift the trophy for the 32nd time. With several veteran likely to play for at least another season and manager Dessire Farrell still in charge, Andrews believes Dublin can deliver another winning return to punters. 

“The assumption after that was, it was such a brilliant victory from a Dublin perspective – it is hard to get sweeter, you are beating Kerry in the All-Ireland final – that maybe some of these guys would step away,” Andrews said. “Ultimately within the dressing room there is obviously a huge connection with the players and with the coaches. Dessie is massively thought of in the group, so for Dessie to stay on is huge. 

“This might change in the next couple of weeks as we come up to Christmas but it looks like those key players, the likes of (Stephen) Cluxton, (Michael) Fitzsimons and James McCarthy, these guys who have a lot of miles on the clock, that they are still committed to it.”