O’Brien: Clubs must give players the opportunity to play football

Tipperary footballer Steven O’Brien pictured at the launch of the Munster GAA Senior Hurling and Football Championship 2024 at Cahir Castle in Tipperary. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Steven O’Brien is calling on clubs to make more of an effort with football.

The midfielder is the captain of the Tipperary senior football team this year and has been speaking ahead of Tipp’s Munster championship quarter-final against Waterford on Sunday.

O’Brien’s club Ballina were the only North Tipperary club competing in either of the top two grades of the county football championship last year.

Steven is encouraging more clubs to give players the opportunity to play the sport:

“Clubs have a number of players there who have the potential to wear the Tipperary jersey and play football and personally I probably feel like they’re not giving them that opportunity.

“I think clubs really need to take a look at themselves and make an effort with football because at the minute between clubs and North boards and stuff like that, I don’t see that effort being put in to football which is fiercely disappointing and something I’m passionate about.

“No more so than my own club, if you look back four or five years ago we probably didn’t have a football team in the club and you look at it we went from junior to intermediate and now a senior football team in the space of three or four years which is massive.

“I’d be encouraging clubs to really give everyone the opportunity to play football and it’s a snowball effect then.”

You can hear the full interview with Steven O’Brien speaking about his injury struggles, the year so far and football in the county on Friday evening’s Across The Line from 6pm.