A first for Mayo as ladies get fuel cost paid
A new initiative between Mayo LGFA and Top Oil will see the county’s senior team become the first ladies inter-county panel in Ireland to have their fuel expenses completely covered.
The groundbreaking partnership will come as welcoming news for the Mayo team and their players who travel from the likes of Dublin, Limerick, Galway and further afield on a weekly basis for collective training.
Up until this recent announcement, the players were not subsidised for their mileage, which placed a significant expense on players – many of whom are students – representing the county team.
Mayo manager Peter Leahy revealed he was initially under the impression mileage was afforded to the players, but was left shocked when he was informed otherwise.
“Having been involved in the men’s inter-county game I took for granted that players of both genders were paid traveling expenses,” the Westmeath native said.
So when I got involved in the inter-county ladies football I was shocked that these athletes, who train the same hours and travel the same distances to training, get no compensation relating to their travelling expenses. So I made it our mission that it should not cost our athletes to travel to training.
An approach was made to Top Oil about the possibility of using fuel cards, where the players could claim back their mileage from traveling to training. Car pools will also be organised amongst them to limit the cost of travel.
“We approached Top Oil and, without hesitation, they came on board,” Leahy said. “This means that our girls are not out of pocket for their fuel costs when they travel to training. We are smart about it and we organise car pools so we only need six or seven cars to bring the squad to each training session.
“We are proud to say that we are the first ladies team we know of that is getting support with their traveling costs.”
Leahy expressed his gratitude to Top Oil and believes strongly that it will “go some way towards the achievement of parity between the men’s and the ladies game in Mayo”.
The Mayo ladies will meet Galway in the Connacht Ladies SFC Final on Sunday at 4pm in MacHale Park, Castlebar, with the Tribeswomen aiming for a seventh Connacht title in the last eight years.
Mayo are still without the 12 players who left the panel last year.
Ken Hogan, Ger Cunningham and Michael Moynihan review the weekend's hurling drama with Anthony Daly
