TEN years ago, the GAA noted the launch of the Gaelic Players' Association (GPA) with casual indifference.

Croke Park had seen it before. A players' association had been formed in the early 1980s but ran out of momentum after a few years. It lacked a proper organisational structure and, with the GAA authorities reacting icily to its existence, there was little real chance that it would survive and prosper.

The 1999 version was completely different. Times had changed and a more assertive inter-county playing population wasn't going to be ignored. It found its voice in the newly formed GPA.

Less than a year after its launch, the GPA drove onto a collision course with the GAA when 10 high-profile players signed up to a £50,000 (€63,500) sponsorship deal with Marlborough where they undertook to carry out promotional work on behalf of the recruitment company.

Was it a violation of the GAA's amateur ethos? Some leading officials wanted to take on the GPA in an aggressive manner but wiser counsel prevailed. However, Croke Park were deeply unhappy with the deal and saw the GPA as a catalyst for trouble.

Former Armagh midfielder Jarlath Burns, who was chairman of the GAA's Players' Committee at the time, said that those who regarded the GPA as elitist and being "representative of a greedy minority may well have been proved right".

And so it went for much of the decade. Relationships between the GAA and GPA alternated between cool and frosty, depending on the time and the issue. The GPA were regularly accused of having a covert pay-for-play agenda and while they continually denied it, suspicions still lurked in the background.

There were various flashpoints over the years, but the issue of formal recognition still managed to rise ever so gradually up the agenda. Nickey Brennan was hopeful of concluding a deal during his presidency but it didn't materialise. Indeed, Brennan fired some critical barbs at the GPA in his departing address to Congress last April.

"Negotiations with the GPA collapsed because they requested a specific percentage of GAA income to fund their activities and that was not a scenario we were prepared to contemplate," he said. "We were prepared to offer funding towards specific projects but allocating a percentage of our income would ultimately result in reduced funding for GAA projects."

Breakdown

Despite the breakdown, Brennan predicted that a formal relationship between the parties would eventually emerge and urged the GPA to "consider its responsibilities towards the wider GAA community".

Hopes of an early agreement looked remote at that stage but Christy Cooney identified it as a priority when he took over as president and, seven months later, a deal has been struck.

Quite how it will work out remains to be seen. It was all peace and harmony in Croke Park on Saturday as Cooney sat at the top table flanked by GAA director general Paraic Duffy, and GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell, but will it last?

What if there's a disagreement over how the GPA plans to spend the €1.1m allocation targeted towards player-welfare initiatives before the end of 2010? Who will have the ultimate say on the matter? What if the GAA vetoes a GPA proposal?

It was explained on Saturday that the money would be paid on the basis of an "agreed process" but just how easy will it be to achieve that?

There are other practical issues to be addressed too. Both the GAA and GPA run monthly and annual player awards with separate sponsors, a situation which is unlikely to continue under the new deal. So which will survive and how will it be decided?

Both sides said that practical details of the new arrangements were still to be worked out but they may prove more problematic than they first appear.

Also, Croke Park can expect some criticism from members for committing €250,000 per year to the GPA's administration costs and a further €1.1m for other initiatives put forward by the players' representatives.

Nonetheless, it's a pragmatic move by the GAA who now have the GPA inside the tent which, by its very nature, imposes some constraints on the new arrivals. It has been clear for several years now that the GPA were here to stay, so it made sense for the GAA to work out a deal.

As for the GPA, it's a major plus to be in receipt of €250,000 per annum towards their administration costs. It's quite common internationally for governing bodies to part-fund players' associations, something the GPA has been pursuing for quite some time.

However, will it make it more difficult for the GPA to be critical of the GAA?

Farrell insisted on Saturday that there would be no question of the GPA being gagged under the new arrangement and that they would continue to represent the players with as much vigour as was required.

Still, the dynamic has changed dramatically for both the GAA and GPA. Ultimately, it will be for the better but there could be some tricky moments in the shorter term as the parties learn to adjust to a scenario that nobody could possibly have envisaged when the GPA was founded 10 years ago.

- Martin Breheny

Irish Independent