GAELIC SPORTS WORLD Issue 20 – February 22, 2015 | Page 11

ASIA is bringing three teams to Abu Dhabi for the World
Games. The Asian squads see two ladies teams in the Ladies
World Cup and a men’s team in the Men’s World Cup.

Argentina Jersey

“We think that we will be very competitive and everyone is
excited to be going to the games,” said Quinn.
“The breakdown of our Men’s Team is interesting as five of our
players have no Irish connections, there are six with Irish blood
and two Irish that are living in Argentina as they got married
with Argentine girls.”
The enthusiasm and skills that the hurlers brought to the Aer
Lingus Hurling Festival saw them reach a divisional final and
there is no doubt that the footballers will have the same energy and spirit and could be dark horses in Abu Dhabi.

Things began in Asia in the mid 1990s with relatively small
numbers of Irish expats playing Gaelic football in the major
urban areas. Today there are some 20 clubs spread across
a huge geographic and multi-cultural horizon. Four main
competitions take place each year – the South Asia Games
in April, China Games in May, North Asia Games in June/
July and the premier event the Asian Gaelic Games in October. Clubs from Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul have
been the most successful on the field in both ladies and
men’s football. The regional events along with the annual
Asian Gaelic Games (AGG) makes sure that there is plenty
of competition at both top tier levels for Irish Diaspora and
a growing local and international involvement in lower
level competitions.
The World Games is a 9 a-side event the same as the Asian
Games, so this format will be familiar to the Asian teams and
that experience should be a confidence builder. The selection process saw the Tier 1 teams picked from the best at the
Asian Games.

Hurling Club told Gaelic Sports World that
they have made a proposal to host to the
GAA World Games in Argentina in October 2016, to commemorate the Argentina
Bicentennial Independence and historic
links to Ireland, at their 2000 member club
in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires.
“Participation by the Hurling Club at the
2015 GAA World Cup in Abu Dhabi is already fostering a new group of passionate
Argentine sportsmen and women anxious
to share the unique qualities of Gaelic Sports
with fellow-players from around the World,”
said Quinn.
Argentina Team. Photo: Hurling Club, Buenos Aires

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