The GAA is the best sporting organisation in this country and has made magnificent strides to keep pace with the changing times, but there are occasions when it can display breath-taking hypocrisy.

The decision to discontinue single sponsors in favour of a ’family’ of backers for the All-Ireland championships makes perfect financial sense when you have products as strong as the GAA has.

The net result is that there will be a bigger financial return and that, in turn, will filter its way down to the grassroots level as the GAA is well structured and democratic.

It is to the credit of the GAA that not only were they able to get three backers for the football championship and three for the hurling, but they were in a position to decide which three they would chose!

But it is here that the deal - worth about €7.5 million a year to the GAA - goes a bit sour. One of the ‘unsuccessful’ bidders was Boylesports Bookmakers, apparently with the view that the GAA did not wish to be seen to promoting gambling.

Nothing wrong with that you might say, but the high moral ground was not occupied when it ‘granted’ one of the sponsorship slots to Guinness.

It would seem that at a time when binge drinking is a serious problem in this country - much more than gambling - there is no problem promoting an alcohol firm. Their money is obviously less tainted than that of the bookies.

The hypocrisy does not end there for a main form of fundraising for many GAA clubs around the county are weekly Lottos. Presumably, the GAA will soon be banning this form of gambling, not least as there is now more than €5 million extra in sponsorship in the kitty to send back down to grassroots level.

Mind you, the GAA is not alone in the hypocrisy area. RTE receives a mandatory licence fee from every television owner in the country and seldom waste an opportunity to tell us it should cost more and that they are under-funded blah, blah… Just where then did they come up with the €1.1 million they are giving the GAA as one of the three hurling sponsors?

Also, if the GAA are to be seriously believed that they want to continue to promote all things Irish, why on earth is an airline from the Middle East given priority over an Irish company when it comes to sponsoring the hurling championships?

Finally, and here is where the fun will really start, the six sponsors of the championships will have the primary (and in most cases, only) sites for advertising boards around GAA pitches for games.

No doubt, many a small local business will be looking at the small print to see if the prime site they have paid for is going to be taken away.

Boylesports mightn’t be the only one with losing dockets thrown on the floor.

END OF AN ERA

Another link with the glory days of the past decade for Galway football came to an end last week when Football Secretary John Power decided to resign after thirteen years in the job.

He got involved when Galway football was at a low ebb - he West Board secretary for nine years before that - and played a key role as Galway captured the All-Ireland senior title in 1998 and 2001, U-21 crowns in 2002 and 2005 and the minor title last year.

It is regrettable that he saw fit to call it a day but he had made it quite clear he was discontent with a number of issues in recent months.

Somehow, a person who had contributed so much deserved a better parting.

THEY SAID IT … "Some of the words are unpronounceable when you've got a set of teeth like mine."

Chris Coleman, on his problems learning Spanish after taking over as the new manager of Real Sociedad.

IT HAPPENED ON THIS DAY … 26th March 1927: Ferdinando Minoaia and Guiseppe Morandi, driving an OM, won the inaugural Mille Miglia at an average speed of 77.22 mph (124 km/hr). The race, from Brescia to Rome and back, was the most famous long-distance race of its time. A bad accident in the 1957 race forced changes which resulted in a smaller version of the race in subsequent years.

The Mille Maglia was responsible for popularising the Alfa Romeo, which won the race 11 times in succession from 1928-’39.

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