GAA Injury Benefit Fund

For full details please visit the official page here https://www.gaa.ie/my-gaa/administrators/gaa-injury-benefit-fund

What is the GAA Injury Benefit Fund?
The GAA has operated an Injury fund in one way or another since 1929. Through a process of constant
review, the Association continues to exercise concern for the welfare of registered members involved
in our national games in various capacities. The mandatory benefit fund provides benefits to registered
members playing the national games of Hurling, Gaelic Football, Handball and Rounders’ whose clubs
are registered with the fund.

The GAA Injury Benefit Fund is a Self-funded benefit fund funded entirely from GAA funds with no
outside involvement. In effect it is a benefit fund funded by members for the members. The Injury
Fund is not an Insurance Scheme and is therefore, not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. As
payments from the fund come directly from GAA funds, there is no Insurer involved with the fund.
There is no legal obligation on the GAA to provide such a fund or for any of our units to pay for
treatments, surgeries required. Risk is an inherent factor in sport, as in life. When members voluntarily
take part in Club \ County activities particularly playing activities in contact sports, they accept the risks
that such participation may bring. Legal representation is not required and therefore, there is strictly
no legal expenses cover amongst the benefits provided. Should a player issue legal correspondence in
respect of a claim within the Fund, the player will be solely responsible for issuing payment for the
costs of such correspondence. Each player needs to ensure that they have adequate cover in place to
meet their own individual needs and personal circumstances. The GAA Injury Benefit Fund is only in
place to cover benefits which cannot be claimed elsewhere and is a benefit cover only.

The GAA Injury Benefit Fund does not seek to compensate fully for Injuries sustained but to
supplement other Schemes such as Personal Accident, Income Protection, Private Health Insurance,
Schools Insurance for example. The playing of Gaelic Football, Hurling, Handball and Rounders’
involves the risk of Injury and it is each individual registered player’s responsibility to familiarise
themselves with the terms and benefits of the GAA Injury Benefit Fund. The Injury Benefit Fund only
provides cover for unrecoverable losses up to the limits specified.

In summary, the GAA Injury Benefit Fund is in place to cover benefits which cannot be claimed
elsewhere. Therefore, if a claimant is seeking to claim benefit from the fund, they must exhaust all
other avenues before making a claim under the GAA Injury Benefit Fund. Furthermore, the Injury
Benefit Fund should not be used as a guarantee for the payment of expenses. Ultimately, the
responsibility to ensure that adequate cover is in place lies with the individual member, commensurate
with his \ her specific needs and members should not use the fund as their only recourse or be
dependent on the fund to compensate them fully for any losses associated with the injury sustained. 
The GAA has operated an Injury fund in one way or another since 1929. Through a process of constant
review, the Association continues to exercise concern for the welfare of registered members involved
in our national games in various capacities. The mandatory benefit fund provides benefits to registered
members playing the national games of Hurling, Gaelic Football, Handball and Rounders’ whose clubs
are registered with the fund.

Who is covered under the GAA Injury Benefit Fund?
The GAA Injury Benefit Fund applies to:
1.1 Registered Players as per the Official Guide who play on a team registered with the GAA Injury
Benefit Fund who incur accidental bodily injury* while playing Hurling, Gaelic Football, Handball
or Rounders’ only, either
in the course of an official competitive Fixture or an Official Sanctioned challenge match
in the course of an official supervised team training session.
1.2 Match officials’ i.e. referees, linesmen or umpires injured while officiating at an official
competitive fixture of Hurling, Handball, Gaelic Football or Rounders’ as specified in 1.1 above.
1.3 Voluntary coaches, team managers, selectors and members of official team parties injured during
games or training as specified in 1.1 above

The GAA Injury Benefit Fund covers Adult* and Youth* members of the GAA.
For the purpose of the Benefit Fund, the following applies:
An Adult* is a registered and paid member of the GAA as per the Official Guide who is 18 years of
age or over on the 1st January of the calendar year.
A Youth* is a registered and paid member of the GAA as per the Official Guide who is under 18 years
of age on the 1st January of the calendar year.

Please note that the GAA Membership Year runs from January 1st – December 31st annually and it is
a requirement as per the official guide that all members are registered on the Foireann Membership
system. Should a GAA Injury Benefit claim be reported for a claimant who is not registered or who
is registered on the membership system after the date of injury, the claim will be declined. All playing
members should be registered members before the commencement of playing activities for the
relevant year and should the club fail to register a member, there are implications for the unit in the
event that a player takes a legal action against the unit as the unit maybe found to be negligent for
permitting a member to play which is against the rules of the Official Guide which in turn will
invalidate any Liability Insurance claim that may arise as it is a strict condition of the Liability
Insurance program that all units are in compliance with the Official Guide. 

All claims must be routed through the Secretary within 60 days of an injury

Email: secretary.kilmaine.mayo@gaa.ie