GAA say there are no plans to bring gaelic games to Anfield despite Liverpool announcement
by Conor McKeon
THE GAA say there are no plans to bring gaelic games to Anfield or any other English football stadium despite an announcement from Liverpool that they intend to host GAA events after the completed redevelopment of their home ground.
The Premier League club today unveiled plans to expand their Anfield Road stand by adding 7,000 seats in a new scheme which will take the ground's capacity to 61,000.
Their chief operating officer Andy Hughes told the club's official website: "The plans for the proposed Anfield Road Stand expansion include exploring the opportunity for permanent permission to hold concerts and other major events at Anfield, including other sporting events such as Gaelic games and American football outside of the matchday calendar."
A spokesperson for the GAA confirmed to Independent.ie that no discussions had taken place between anyone at the Premier League club and the GAA and that there are currently no plans to stage any such event in an English ground.
It is, however, a possibility given the existing link between the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) that owns Liverpool and the GAA.
Fenway Park hosted the hurling 'Super 11s' in 2015, '17 and '18 before it was moved to New York's Citi Field this year.
In the past, FSG have also staged American football games, concerts and in February, a sport known as ice cross downhill at the iconic home of the Boston Red Sox.
There is, however, only scope to play 11-a-side hurling or a similarly amended version of gaelic football at Anfield as the pitch is too small to host a 15-a-side match.
The size of the current Anfield pitch is 101m x 68m.
Official GAA rules say that all playing surfaces must be 130 metres minimum in length and 80 metres in width.