The majority of male inter-county Gaelic footballers are opposed to any further rule changes, with those in support only favouring small tweaks, according to the GPA's Member Survey Report 2026.

Gaelic football's Expert Advisory Group have proposed 11 changes to the rules which are currently being trialled in the third level Division 1 league.

The rule tweaks, aimed at curbing slow attacks, include a rule limiting the number of consecutive handpasses to three, a ban on fisted points and the reintroduction of the four-point goal.

However, 76% of male players surveyed by the GPA are opposed to further rule changes, with 23.5% suggesting that small tweaks are needed. Just 0.5% players surveyed feel that significant changes are needed.

In hurling, there is majority support for just three potential changes, with two-thirds of those surveyed favouring the return of the maor foirne, while 58% support a change to allow seven substitutions rather than five.

A very slight majority (51%) favour the introduction of two-point sideline cut.

However, there is strong opposition to the rule that a puckout must cross the 45m line, with 86% against the measure. 81% of players are opposed to rule tweak which pushes 65s back even to the halfway line.

No fewer than 24 changes proposed by hurling's expert advisory group are being trialled in this year's third level league.

Across all tiers of hurling, 53% of players are satisfied with the championship structure as it is, though a significant minority (38%) favour detaching the All-Ireland series from the provincial championship, with a majority of Joe McDonagh Cup players preferring the latter to the current format.

"The consensus from the players is that they're really happy with the current rules in football and hurling," GPA chief executive Tom Parsons told RTÉ Sport.

"Particularly in football this year, with the change in rules. There's definitely not an appetite for major changes. If there's tweaks, that may be supported by players.

"But major changes like the three-point rule, I don't think that'll be a flier with players."

Elsewhere in the survey, 63% of male players are supportive of Friday night fixtures provided they do not miss work or are compensated for time off.

"I think players would be broadly supportive of Friday night games but they need to be compensated for days off work," Parsons said.

"It's unworkable for players to work a full day and then expect to play a significant National League game on a Friday night. So they need to be compensated for days off work and is that even logistically possible?"

74% of all players, male and female, reported suffering an injury in 2026, which is in line with 2025 figures.

85% of players support the sharing of their performance data to a centralised database in order to support workload, welfare and injury risk.

Hamstring injuries remain the most common type for male players (28%), while lower leg injuries are most predominant among female players (20%). Female players remain more prone to ACL injuries - 5% compared to 3% of male players.

49% of players, meanwhile, reported having just two weeks or less of rest between the end of the club season and the start of the inter-county programme.

A whopping 86% of players feel that they should commercially benefit from their own name, image and likeness rights, while 139 players reported that they were blocked from a commercial or media opportunity in 2026 from within their own team.