Aussie cash could change Gaelic football

By Chris Buckler
BBC News

Martin Clarke has reaped the rewards of a move to Aussie Rules

In Ireland Gaelic football isn't so much a national sport as a national obsession.

Every weekend matches attract huge crowds and it is the dream of many young fans to play for their club or county.

But teams from another sport, on the other side of the world, would like to change those ambitions.

Talent scouts from Australian Rules football clubs have been touring Ireland looking for players with potential.

What the Australian sport can offer top footballers can be summed up in one word - money.

Gaelic football is an amateur game, while Aussie rules has professional players and its clubs have big cheque books.

For the last month Gerard Scholly has been touring Ireland scouting out talent for Carlton Football Club, which is in the Australian Football League (AFL).

"On this trip I have spoken to 25 families," Mr Scholly says.

"I find that the players are really interested - most of the boys watch Australian Rules football on TV."

Future stars

There are similarities between the games. In both sports the players kick, catch and carry the ball - even if that ball is a different shape.

Not everyone is able to make the transition but the success of one young star has made some AFL clubs very curious about the untapped talent to be found in Ireland.

County Down's Martin Clarke stood out as a young Gaelic player.

In 2006, when he was still a teenager, he took a contract with AFL side Collingwood, and was playing for the team within a year.

The manner in which the whole recruitment process is taking place is most unsatisfactory GAA President Nickey Brennan

There are others who have also made an impact after heading Down Under, including Kerry's Tadgh Kennelly.

Agents seem determined to find future stars. One management company, Flying Start, recently wrote to Australian clubs with an offer to look for the best 14 to 20-year-olds across Ireland.

Flying Start said they would gather information about the players, including their height, weight and playing position.

In the letter, they even promise to look into the teenager's family history to make predictions about their potential. The service has been offered to each AFL club at the cost of 15,000 euros a year.

'Unsatisfactory' recruitment

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is concerned that the current recruitment drive could create a game drain.

"It may very well be that they see Ireland as a rich source of players for the future and that may very well become a bigger issue," says GAA president Nickey Brennan.

"The manner in which the whole recruitment process is taking place is most unsatisfactory - it is very unacceptable to us in the GAA."

But there is little they can do to stop agents or AFL clubs from approaching footballers.

Players will always have a great deal of pride in being selected for Gaelic teams but the potential of a lucrative contract could be too much for some to refuse.

And it will be the very best who are made those offers.