The Women's Gaelic Players Association (WGPA) has called for equality in funding following the release of its 'Levelling the Field' report.

The survey, completed by 534 players, shows that elite female players put in similar hours of training to their male counterparts, but that they receive less than a quarter of the government funding that men do - €700,000 versus €3million in 2019.

The players representative body is seeking an improved grants scheme and closer links to the GPA.

Some of the more startling figures to emerge from the report included the fact a majority of players have to pay their own physio costs, gym memberships and even medical bills

On top of that 93% of female Gaelic games inter-county players receive no travel expenses at all, with the cost of fuel averaging €55 per week.

This is in stark contrast to the 50 cent per mile for male players agreed between the GAA and GPA earlier this month, which in itself was a decrease brought about by the current fall in revenues in the association.

However a spokesperson for the LGFA confirmed on Wednesday that an agreement had already been put in place for the 2020 season, before the publication of today's WGPA report, which would see an amount paid towards players' mileage costs for this year.

"These findings clearly demonstrate the increasingly unsustainable demands of the female inter-county games," said WGPA Chairperson Maria Kinsella.

"We fully appreciate there are no short term solutions to a lot of the issues identified and on the back of a trying year, it will be a challenge for us all to ensure that the interests of female players remain on the agenda as we rebuild.

"We look forward to working with our partners and players to achieve the aims outlined."

Last week Dublin captain Sinéad Aherne told RTÉ Sport that she was hopeful that resources could be pooled to increase the funding available for expenses in the women's game.

Some of the key findings of the survey are below:

  • 5 to 6 training days per week for female inter-county GAA players
  • 3.7 hours contact time on a training day (including travel)
  • 74% are so tired from the mental demands that they struggle to work / study
  • 80km average round trip to training to over three group sessions per week
  • 93% of players not in receipt of any travel expenses
  • Up to €200 per week spent on fuel costs to accommodate training
  • 77% of players pay towards their own physio services
  • 69% of players pay towards their own gym fees
  • 55% pay for their own medical treatments
  • 34% take part in marketing and promotional activity linked to their sport; of these 65% do not receive any compensation