320 players across 28 different teams
Anyone who has had the misfortune pleasure to organise any sort of GAA event involving more than four teams knows it can be pretty head-melting stuff. But at least if it’s someway local then you won’t have to worry about time differences, sorting out hotels or how teams will manage to go from playing in five feet of snow to 20 degree heat at 8pm.
Well these just some of the challenges facing the sides ahead of this weekend’s first ever GAA World Games in Abu Dhabi. Twenty eight sides from across the globe, including four teams made up of entirely non-Irish players, will compete in what effectively is a World Cup of Gaelic Football. Secretary of Middle East GAA Paddy Darcy admits that it has been a big task trying to get everything sorted for the weekend:
‘It’s great that it’s upon us, it’s a bit frantic at the last minute but we’re loving it. The biggest challenge has been the logistics of it, no doubt. Trying to co-ordinate people’s flights and the different time zones from east to west. The guys from Buenos Aires and New Zealand have probably travelled the farthest. It’s been a real case of planes, trains and automobiles to get here but everyone’s well rested at this stage.’
This weekend’s event is an all-football affair, apart from a mini tournament being run in parallel by Middle East GAA involving hurling, camogie and ladies football. The genesis of the GAA World Games developed from various hurling clubs across the world coming together to play in Ireland as part of the Gathering in 2013. Darcy felt that a similar football version would work well:
‘The idea has been floating around for over three years. We’ve been talking about it here and, as most conversations do, it took place late at night. The hurling event at the Gathering then lit the touchpaper when 16 of our teams went back to Ireland to play hurling. We thought ‘why don’t we do something like that in Gaelic football’. From there on it morphed and multiplied and here we are now outside of the first GAA world games.’
Gaelic Games in the Middle East is thriving with hundreds of ex-pats using hurling and football to make contacts as well as create their own sense of community miles from home. Many of those involved this weekend are teachers and construction workers. Darcy admits that it’s a strange feeling to see GAA clubs abroad benefitting while clubs at home struggle:
‘I know in my own club in Dunderry in Meath that we have lost a lot of guys to emigration. You look at Perth maybe six years ago and now it’s booming. That’s a sad result of losing our young to the economy.
‘It has really exploded the last few years with  the economic downturn. We went from five teams five years ago to 50 or 60 clubs with 700 players. Our Middle East season runs September to April and the standard is getting better every year and we’ve seen more and more inter county players bring the standard up a lot. We have Aindreas Doyle from Wexford and we’ve Donegal All-Ireland winner Ryan Bradley too, who’s out injured at the moment.’
The event gets underway on Friday with 20 teams playing in the GAA World games between men and women’s sides while there are four GAA units from Argentina, Galicia, Middle East and South Africa competing in the GAA World Cup. Darcy admits he’s most interested in seeing how the new GAA units fare.
‘I’m looking forward to the seeing the non Irish in competition. You’re looking at sides from Argentina, Galicia, Middle East & South Africa and those guys, who didn’t even know about Gaelic football a few years ago are now playing in a World Cup. That means more to me than the Irish diaspora playing. You can see that teams are not here for a holiday – they’re here to win.’
Getting to Dubai is the biggest obstacle that many of the sides have faced and the organisers knew that in order for the competition to work they would need a high profile sponsor. With Etihad coming on board and flying one team from each unit to Dubai, it was then up to the GAA clubs to fundraise to allow more sides to take part. It has meant that some of the very best GAA players from across the world are heading to Dubai this weekend for the matches. Darcy feels that Abu Dhabi with its facilities and large numbers willing to help was an ideal venue for the inaugural tournament:
‘We’ve run a Middle East League for the last four years. The Zayed Sports City has 14 pitches and we’ll be taking seven of those. The facilities are tailor made for it. When we got approval from Liam O’Neill in 2013 it was flat out and we got all the local units to give it their all. It is quite expensive to get here but once we dangled the carrot to players, the cost then wasn’t an issue. We said to all the units to bring their best team, and they’ve all done that really.’
Heading to Dubai to play some GAA, meet some new people and possibly have some drinks as well doesn’t sound like a bad way to spend your weekend. The GAA have left the organising of this year’s event very much up to the hosts and Darcy is hoping that if this year’s event is successful then Croke Park will come on board to really promote future incarnations.
‘We’re aware we’re on trial and that it has to be a success. We want the GAA to take it in house so they can drive it a lot better than we can but we’ve no doubt it will be a success. The idea that we brought is that it should be all encompassing. We couldn’t get that from day one but it’s not just a football World Cup – it’s going to grow into taking in angles of the GAA. We’d love to see it happen every two years in a rotating venue. Next time it could be New York, then Melbourne then Paris, who knows.’
