The Mayo County Board issued a statement on the matter on Sunday morning.
With September just around the corner, the Mayo footballers have found themselves back in an All-Ireland Final and will once again try to put an end to what is the most famous famine in the GAA.
Few sets of supporters follow their county’s fortunes with the fanaticism that Mayo fans do and with tickets likely to be highly sought after in the run-up to the decider on the third Sunday in September, the Mayo county board has warned supporters not to fall victim to potential fundraising scams over the next three weeks.
In a statement, the county board warned supporters to beware of people who “are using the success of our teams to mislead our extremely loyal supporters into contributing financially claiming that their funds will go towards the team training funds”.
It was stressed that any fundraising on behalf of the team’s training funds is done under the Cáirde Mhaigheo fundraising umbrella and only authorised by the Executive of Mayo GAA.
It has cost in excess of €1 million to prepare all Mayo county teams in 2017 (as it did in 2016) and Mayo supporters have been urged to contact the county board if they are unsure whether a fundraising activity is legitimately going towards the team training fund.
You can read the statement in full below.
Statement on behalf of Mayo GAA
Mayo G.A.A. would like to make all supporters conscious of fraudulent fundraising activity that may be happening as a result of our senior football team qualifying for the All-Ireland final. It has come to our attention that there are certain individuals & organisations within Ireland and overseas who are planning events under the premise of raising funds for Mayo teams on behalf of the Mayo GAA.
These people are using the success of our teams to mislead our extremely loyal supporters into contributing financially claiming that their funds will go towards the team training funds. Supporters should be aware that the only funds raised that go towards our team training funds are those raised under our Cáirde Mhaigheo fundraising umbrella and only authorised by the Executive of Mayo GAA.
Unauthorised fundraisers can actually harm Mayo GAA and undo all the good work that is done by volunteers throughout the county & beyond for the good of Mayo GAA. Supporters are well within their right to ask organisers if their events/merchandise have been given the necessary approval by Mayo GAA.
To prepare all our county teams – all ages, including hurling and football – we will have expenditure in excess of €1m this year, as we had in 2016. We welcome all financial support for Mayo GAA, but fund-raisers must come through the proper channels so that money can be diverted to the cause of preparing our teams. Mayo GAA, team management and players are all working together to advance this goal at all times.
This year, our senior football team has once again been prepared to a very high standard. We make this investment in our teams so that they can be in the best possible condition to achieve our common goal of winning an All-Ireland title. If anyone is unsure whether a fundraising activity is legitimately going towards the team training fund then please contact the Mayo County Board 094-9250487 or any officer of the Executive or via email on [email protected].
