The GAA will seek to have its sports feature in future Olympic Games.
At the launch of World GAA's strategy plan in Newry earlier today, it was revealed that the association’s world council will aim to ultimately earn recognition from the International Olympic Committee.
The end goal is to see Gaelic football, hurling and camogie staged at Olympic Games in the future.
The revelation came as the new strategic plan was unveiled.
This new plan charts a direction for the ever-growing seven international units and 475 clubs across World GAA.
The plan ranges from 2024 to 2026 and features a variety of objectives to realise the GAA’s vision as a sustainable community-based and volunteer-led association.
Based on last year’s figures, approximately 64,000 Irish people are expected to leave these shores this year by the month of April.
This exodus has seen World GAA grow at an enormous rate.
To reflect this trend, four strategic themes were identified to form the core of the GAA’s operational plan across the globe for the next three years.
These include coaching and games, health and well-being, PR and communications and officer training.
Networking and securing recognition with local sporting federations through officer training and PR are key pillars that will be used to help gain international recognition for the GAA from 60 sporting federations across the world.
The association’s strategy centres on countries in each unit of World GAA firstly seeking national sport recognition from their respective federations.
Each GAA council will then establish a work group to identify the number of countries in their unit, the number of clubs in each country, and then target to meet with consulates to understand the process of eligibility for Olympic participation and connect with sporting and government departments.
These work groups and connections will be geared towards eventually achieving AIMS (Alliance of Independent recognised Members of Sports) recognition.
The target is to establish AIMS recognition by 2026 and to re-assess the situation at that stage.
Gaelic football and hurling previously made a brief appearance in the 1904 Olympics.
The sports featured in an unofficial capacity when Fenians FC from Chicago beat host team St Louis by 10 goals to nil.
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