Tipperary football captain Peter Acheson today revealed he will not be part of the team for next season as he plans to move to Dubai.
Speaking after today's defeat to Mayo in the All-Ireland football championship, he explained that plans to make the move previously had fallen through.
"I was supposed to be gone two years ago but I was convinced twice to stay back," he Newstalk Sport’s Oisin Langan after the game.
"I’m glad I did now in fairness. Myself and the girlfriend are going to Dubai. I’m only 26, if I’m gone for a year or two, I might take the boots back out at some stage maybe.
"I love football and I love playing for Tipp, but I’ve been playing now for seven years. Look if I don’t go now, I can't go travelling at 33 years of age. If I don't go now I'll never go. It’s just a pity that this is when Tipp are driving on, it’s a pity we didn’t do it seven years ago.
"I’m happy out that I was a part of it and I’ve no doubt that the lads inside in the dressing-room will drive it on even more."
Image: ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Speaking about why he decided to stay on and stick with Tipp, Acheson revealed that the captaincy and leadership role made a huge difference to him, but also a switch of position reignited his passion for the game.
However, he revealed that he played the whole game on Sunday with a broken hand, which shows just how much it meant to him to be on the All-Ireland stage.
"I wasn't too happy about today now to be honest, I actually broke my hand during the week. I was playing with a heavy enough injection, and I wasn't too happy with my performance today, but look, the lads were brilliant and it's just a pity that we couldn't do it."
Looking to the future for football in Tipperary, Acheson knows that there's still a long path to be traveled by the team: "The young lads inside might think this can happen every year. We're wiser than that, it's going to be very tough to get back to this position again. I think this was our chance to get into a final and I think it's upsetting that we didn't get there."
"The right men are in charge, Liam's in it for the long haul. I'd say our supporters are after multiplying by about 20 and I hope they come out in the first round of the Championship next year and support us."
Despite the fact that they were beaten on the day, Acheson admitted that the better team had come out on top, adding: "Mayo stepped up again today, they were brilliant in fairness to them, and to be honest I hope they go on and win it."
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