Should The UAE Join The All Ireland Football Championship?

New York’s impressive win over Leitrim in the Connacht GAA Championship last weekend raises the question of how a UAE team would perform if they competed in the championship.

Teams such as Gloucestershire, Scotland, Yorkshire, New York, London and Warwickshire have the opportunity to participate in the junior championship in Ireland, providing players with a great chance to showcase their skills on a national level.

In contrast, teams from the Middle East League don’t have the same opportunity to compete, even when the travel time is one-hour longer than a direct flight from New York to Dublin (7.5 hours versus 6.5 hours). Nevertheless, the marquee players from the UAE would certainly excel if they were given the opportunity to play together.

New York’s success in the championship is a testament to the collective buy-in from more than 36 squad members, along with years of hard work from their county board. However, a UAE team offers similar, if not superior talent to the men from the Bronx, with former inter-county players and others who could have potentially lined out for their respective county teams had they stayed home.

With our county board aligned with Leinster GAA, a combined UAE inter-county team would undoubtedly contend well in the junior championship. Imagine an iron-like defence of Cormac Coffey, Liam McGoldrick, Eamon Kiely, Sean Kelly, Eric Lowndes and Peter Acheson; it would be a frightening prospect for any opposition. The attack would be just as formidable, with Danny Neville, Jack Savage, Conor Carthy, Mike Fitzgibbon, Niall Rooney, Ciaran Tracey, Alan Freeman and Jordan Kiely, all capable of contributing big scores. The team would be a force.

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To demonstrate the feasibility of travelling, Coffey and Savage made multiple trips from Dubai to play for Kerins O’Rahillys during the club championship last season. Similarly, Kiely and Fitzgibbon flew back to play in their respective club championship games for Brosna and Castlemahon.

Of course, 9-a-side football in the Middle East differs greatly from 15-a-side in Ireland. Still, based on their technical ability, fitness, and game management, these players mentioned are undoubtedly class acts who would compete strongly on the national stage.

Championship football demands fitness, speed, skill, accurate point-kicking, and the ability to perform simple things with intensity and without making mistakes. These qualities set the best teams apart, and a UAE team possesses them in abundance.

While it may not happen anytime soon, it would be fantastic to see a UAE team involved in a provincial championship one day, given the array of talent on display.