Mayo GAA is to establish five new working groups to look at key areas of development within the Bord na nÓg sector in the county. The new groups will focus on improving and developing the underage structures in all divisions and in all clubs. The groups include discipline and referee support, player development and games promotion, IT and communications, the promotion of the ‘Silent Side-line’ ethos in clubs and Bord na nÓg strategy development.
Chairperson of Mayo GAA Bord na nÓg Daithí Gallagher and Secretary Ronan Kirrane will oversee the process and work hand-in-hand with each strategic group. Outlining the vision for the development groups Daithí Gallagher stated that for the past two years the focus in clubs and within the county board was solely on the provision of football against the challenging backdrop of the Covid 19 crisis but now it was time to look to the future and see where things can be informed.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel and it is important that we examine all the structures and policies within Mayo GAA Bord na nÓg and see what can be improved. We must ensure that our focus is not solely on competitive football, but that we do our utmost to support player development and personal development equally. These working groups will help us achieve our ultimate goal of creating robust, streamlined and safe structures around our underage games to provide the best support for all of our young athletes,” commented Gallagher.
Mayo GAA is also actively looking for new referees in both football and hurling and will be launching a promotion campaign across all its communication platforms in the coming weeks to highlight the key role that these officials play in facilitating our games.
Mayo GAA is inviting all clubs in the county to engage in the reflection process and contribute to the future vision and plans of Mayo GAA Bord na nÓg. It is anticipated that the working groups will be in place by March 21st. Those interested in getting involved are asked to submit an Expression of Interest to Bord na nÓg by March 12th. The EOI form can be requested by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Working Groups:
- Discipline & Referee Support
- Review the current challenges with referee abuse & conduct referee survey to assess same.
- Propose new ‘best in class’ structure to improve respect shown to referees and to reduce the abusive behaviour directed at referees from the sidelines.
- Player Development & Games Promotion
- Establish a player development policy to be adopted by all clubs to balance the focus between competition, personal development and wellbeing.
- Explore new opportunities to promote the GAA in local communities and encourage participation across all cultures and backgrounds.
- IT and Communications Development
- Review existing software that would support the administration of Bord na nÓg and enhance communication with clubs.
- Explore the opportunity to create a Bord na nÓg Quarterly / Monthly update to enhance communications with management teams and parents.
- Silent Sideline (Proposed by Ballintubber)
- Develop a guide for clubs in implementing a Silent Side line for U11 games this year.
- Take key learning from the process and propose similar format to be adopted from U12-U13 in 2023.
- Bord na nÓg Strategy Development
- Complete a Bord na nÓg strategy to guide the development of underage games for the county over the new 5 years.
- Explore best practice in other sports and research emerging trends in youth athlete development.
- Club consultation on the direction they would like to see underage football progress.
Required Commitment:
- Max. 6 meetings within the year
- Appx. 2hours work per week
- 12 month expiry on all working groups
- Quarterly report by Chair to Bord na nÓg Committee