Recession Recession Recession

The papers are littered with articles about the impact the recession is having on the GAA at the moment. The number of transfers to the UK especially, has been on the rise since mid-2008. It is even reaching our top stars whom in the past could have probably expected their talent to land them some work. However, today's article in the Sunday Tribune (http://www.tribune.ie/sport/gaelic-football/article/2009/jan/18/londain-calling/) tells of an unemployed Matty Forde, two Cork lads who have moved to Edinburgh and Sweden to continue their careers and a Monaghan manager who will probably resign if any of his current squad board a boat or a plane destined for foreign lands.

The UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are the most likely destinations for those heading off. On mainland Europe we are seeing inklings of it also. In recent weeks there has been rumour of clubs starting in Poland, Sweden, Estonia and Norway. Whether there is a link or not can't be determined.

The part of the article that caught my eye was the move of Cork full back Derek Kavanagh to Sweden. With a team potentially springing up in Stockhom it throws up the possibility of a titanic midfield battle between Kavanagh and Clare Island & Belgium's Olof Gill. Olof, with a Swedish mother would no doubt relish the battle.

But what could Kavanagh expect of his early days in his new GAA club? He would most likely be joining a small group of passionate GAA men whose dream of setting up a club started over a few pints in one of Stockhoms bustling Irish pubs. The club would have no money and training in its early days would take place in a local park. He would probably be taking orders from a lad from the West of Ireland who met a Swedish au pair 40 years ago and followed her home. Most importantly of all though, his new teammates would take him under their wing, show him the sights, offer a social outlet and provide him any support he needed to settle in. Whether Kavanagh would be able to adjust his GAA ambitions to his new environment is another matter. If he could, I'm sure he would be made very welcome and settle in very quickly.

What about the recession and its impact on Belgium GAA? The magnitude of it probably hasn't hit most of us here and it certainly does not dominate the conversation anywhere near the extent it does at home. I do understand the severity of it though, as I work for Toyota and we are in one of the most deeply affected sectors. We have three or four other lads who work for the company also, two of whom would normally leave for Japan in the coming year. We are hoping Toyota takes a cautious approach to the current situation and postpones their assignments so we can benefit from their talent for a little longer!!

Alot of the other lads in our club work in the European institutions in nice cushy, well protected jobs. Some have sought to extend their assignments but their request has been denied and they have had to return to their desks in Dublin. This makes us probably the only GAA team outside of Ireland suffering negatively from the recession at home.

It is also impacting our ability to lure teams over for challenge games. We have hosted a few teams in the past but this year we have been putting a massive effort into contacting clubs and trying to get them over. For our club to continue to grow, we need to provide a GAA calender with enough events to encourage lads to give committment. So far there has been a very cautionary tone to the replies and people at home are no doubt cutting down on weekends away.

Finally, I can't imagine when lads get out their map to decide where to head, that their finger lands on Brussels too often. Expect the Spanish teams, the Dutch teams and maybe those a bit further East to benefit most. We will all be interested in seeing how Luxembourg are impacted. They recruit bucket loads of Irish students every summer to work in the banks, which makes them very strong. I'm undecided as to whether i'd be happy or not if this pipeline drys up. It strengthens them considerably but it also raises the standards and playing level of the competitions, which can only be a good thing. For now though, its a case of wait and see.