AFL to launch "Sydney Celtics" to develop Irish talent?

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AFL to launch "Sydney Celtics" to develop Irish talent?

Saturday, July 12 2008 @ 07:15 pm ACST
Contributed by: Aaron Richard
Views: 6,457

Much noise has been made about the AFL's plans to launch new clubs on the Gold Coast and Western Sydney, with it looking increasingly likely that the two new teams will be playing within just three or four years.

The new clubs will see significant concessions regarding creating their player lists, particularly regarding local NSW and Queensland talent, but a new concept has surfaced recently - connected to building a club around the increasing number of young Irishmen coming down under.

Melbourne's The Age newspaper reported today that the AFL is considering launching an Irish-dominated West Sydney side, based on a proposal first put to Andrew Demetriou in 2006 by Gaelic Players Association executive Donal O'Neill.

Demetriou yesterday confirmed the meeting with O'Neill, who reportedly put forward a detailed business plan involving millions of dollars in funding emanating from the US and Britain as well as Ireland, and increased television coverage in Britain and Ireland. The "Sydney Celtics" could also potentially tie into the international brand power of the NBA's Boston Celtics and the Scottish soccer club Glasgow Celtics.

The AFL chief was however somewhat reserved in his public response, saying "To call this embryonic is an understatement. We are looking at several proposals and we have been forwarded all sorts of ideas."

The full article can be read here.

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AFL to launch "Sydney Celtics" to develop Irish talent?

Authored by: Brett Northey
on Sunday, July 13 2008 @ 12:09 am ACST

Wow, that's a pretty significant story, even though there's no support for it quoted there from the AFL. But they certainly didn't discount it.

It would certainly be a way of bringing more Gaelic players into the AFL and in turn dramatically boost its following in Ireland and perhaps Britain, although there is the risk of a backlash by the Irish public. And you would have to think, if this is the first the GAA have heard of it, it would be a huge shock and worry to them.

The following story from the Irish site the Hogan Stand suggests it is a shock:

http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=98075

You wonder if the GAA clubs would have voted for a resumption of the IR series if they'd known about this.

At the end of the day, I do wonder whether it's worth pursuing - it would have the potential to destroy the Gaelic football and hurling fabric of Ireland, if young kids grew up aiming to play for Sydney Celtics, because inevitably you'd have them turn to Aussie Rules right from the start. That isn't particularly the AFL's problem, but what is the net gain? Ireland is not a big market (about the same as NZ and I don't see any big push by the AFL to penetrate that).

And there is the risk of not having western Sydney embrace the new team. Although Australia has plenty of Irish heritage, not too many Aussies would consider themselves Irish, and I suspect especially not in western Sydney. Having said that, Sydney overall is said to have Australia's largest Irish population.

If they really wanted to go this way I reckon it would be a better option say in 20 years, assuming our game continues to become better known in Ireland and grow in Sydney, so it could be a third Sydney club.

If there was a large Irish base in western Sydney, or Ireland was a bigger market to catch a big TV audience in, then maybe it would have more merit.