The Cavan ladies football team say it is with "deep regret" that they have decided not to fulfil today's Division 2 league fixture against Tyrone over an ongoing dispute with the county board.
The Breffni women were due to face the Red Hands in Newtownstewart this afternoon but, with no resolution to a disagreement over expenses, have decided to pull out of the game.
Captain Neasa Byrd told the We Are Cavan podcast that a charter had been negotiated between the players and the county board in January, but that there have been issues with certain aspects of the plan ever since.
In a statement issued this morning, the team said that while "positive engagement" had been made since the dispute became public, that they "now want to see it backed up by action and these minimum standards finally implemented".
"As you are most likely aware, a written agreement that we signed up to in good faith with our county board has not been honoured," the statement read.
"We have made numerous attempts to have the minimum standards set out in the agreement adhered to but unfortunately this has not happened.
"We are not prepared to play until the issues have been fully resolved as we have been let down as regards promises and commitments previously.
"We communicated our position to the County Board Executive yesterday. We have subsequently been informed and are aware of the potential consequences of not playing."
One of the main points of contention involves mileage to attend training sessions in Cavan, with team manager Gerry Moane allegedly paying for a bus to bring players from Dublin to a recent session, and back again, out of his own pocket.
"We're in a very different situation this year in that we have 20 players based in Dublin, all between the ages of 18 - 26 with only one player working full-time," Byrd said earlier this week.
Today’s statement went on to say that the decision not to fulfil the fixture wasn’t taken lightly while also apologising to Tyrone for the inconvenience caused.
"We want what’s best for ourselves and girls playing club football in Cavan now who will some day line out for our county. The girls and women in Cavan deserve to have promises kept and to be treated with respect.
"It's imperative we protect those who are most vulnerable, including student members of our squad.
"We are proud to represent our county and pull on the Cavan jersey. Taking a decision to withdraw from a game is not something we do lightly.
"However, given the current circumstances, we feel we do not have any other option.
"We hope you, the clubs and supporters of ladies football in our county will understand our decision.
"We hope the issues can be resolved to allow us get back to what we want to do, represent our great county."
