Dublin to line out without sponsor logo

THE DUBLIN footballers will take to the field this Sunday for their first competitive game of the season without a sponsor’s logo on their jerseys as the county board is still agreeing the final details of the reported six-year deal with Vodafone.

An official announcement of Dublin’s new deal with the mobile phone giant is expected before the start of next month’s National League, but in the meantime neither the county board nor Vodafone are making any formal comment on the issue.

What is certain is that Dublin will wear plain blue jerseys for Sunday’s O’Byrne Cup meeting with Wexford at Parnell Park, and most likely will do for the remainder of the competition. Having missed the lucrative Christmas market, the county board are now more concerned about getting the sponsored jerseys released in time for the start of the league – which from Dublin’s point of view begins with a trip to All-Ireland champions Kerry on February 7th.

“We’re not making any comment on the sponsorship issue right now,” said Dublin county secretary John Costello. “All we will say is that there will be nothing on the Dublin jerseys for Sunday’s game.”

The Irish Timesfirst revealed on December 11th that Vodafone would be the new Dublin sponsors in an apparent six-year deal worth an initial €800,000 a year, rising to about €1 million annually over the life of the agreement. Bonuses will also be paid based on success, the obvious one there being Dublin's quest to secure a first football All-Ireland since 1995.

Vodafone responded to that report by confirming it was in negotiations with the Dublin GAA County Board to sponsor its senior football and hurling teams, but that “the company will not make any comment on the negotiations while they are ongoing”.

It was announced last summer that Arnotts were ending their 18-year association with the county, and that set in motion the negotiations to find a replacement. Vodafone moved into pole position to take over the deal in December after mobile rival Meteor, which is owned by Eircom, eventually withdrew their interest. The pair had initially gone head-to-head for the sponsorship rights, which will cover Dublin’s senior football and hurling teams.

The sponsorship deal will extend Vodafone’s association with the GAA. The company already sponsors the All-Ireland football championship, along with Ulster Bank and Toyota. That deal has one year left to run.

Vodafone’s branding will feature prominently at Parnell Park, Dublin’s home venue for National League games, and other GAA grounds around the capital. It will also connect the mobile brand with Dublin’s burgeoning underage structures. About 90,000 GAA players are registered in Dublin, and the county footballers are easily the best supported GAA team in the country, despite the relative lack of success in recent decades.

It was confirmed yesterday Stephen Hiney will captain the hurling senior team for a third successive season. Hiney (26) has been a consistent figure for both county and Ballyboden St Enda’s during their last three Dublin county hurling victories, and received a first All Star nominee last year.

GAA president Christy Cooney has offered his condolences to the family of former Limerick dual star Danny Fitzgerald after his recent passing.

The Claughaun clubman played intercounty hurling and football from the mid 1980s into the 1990s and won two NHL medals in 1984 and 1985. The former 1991 All-Star football nominee also represented his province in both football and hurling winning a Railway Cup in the latter in 1984 and he also claimed county honours with his club in both codes in the 1980s.

“We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the extended Fitzgerald family at this difficult time,” said Cooney. “Danny made a big contribution to Limerick GAA and the association as a whole through his intercounty involvement not just in one code, but in both.

“Our thoughts and best wishes are with those who were closest to him and I hope they recall some of the happy memories he provided wearing the green of Limerick but also while in the colours of his home club Claughaun.”