THE prospect of GAA achieving Olympic status in the near future is “out of reach”, according to a leading member of the GAA in Britain.
Secretary of the organisation here, Gary Kelly, believes that the GAA has a distance to travel before achieving that goal.
“I’m not sure how realistic it is to think of it as an Olympic sport. I don’t think the GAA has the profile to be included, it may be a little bit out of our reach at the minute,” Kelly told The Irish Post.
“You look at mainstream sports like golf for instance, which is only making its debut within the Olympics and it is played by millions. I’m sure they’ve been making efforts over the years to gain Olympics status.”
GAA president Liam O’Neill said earlier in the week that a World Cup of Gaelic games “would be a stepping stone to that [Olympic entry].”
On Wednesday O'Neill unveiled his Olympic aspirations when he spoke at a launch of South Africa’s GAA grassroots development programme at Croke Park, and shared his hopes for the future of the Association.
The GAA’s current long-term goal is to establish a World Cup, which would include teams from all five continents. This would appear a more probable aim at present, with teams already established as far as America and Australia.
Kelly said that there is room for a worldwide competition run by the GAA.
“There’s definitely an appetite for something on a global basis, organised by theAassociation, because there is a massive global spread of the game,” he said.
“It would be something run by GAA, rather than part of a global sporting event like the Olympics.”
Kelly was keen to emphasise that any recognition of the GAA on a global basis should not be at the expense of the participation of London or New York in the Connacht championship, or London’s position in the National League.
“It is very important that these two links would be kept alive, and that that they have this link to the All-Ireland championships,” he said.
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