Drogheda United take stand against gambling sponsorship

Drogheda United have vowed to avoid all gambling sponsorship by backing ‘The Big Step’ campaign based in the United Kingdom that seeks to end all forms of bookmaking advertisements in football. The Louth club has also called upon every League of Ireland side to follow their lead.

"Drogheda United is proud to be the first League of Ireland club to join The Big Step," said Conor Hoey, the Drogheda United chairman. "Family and community are at the heart of Drogheda United and, as a club, we try to maintain values that improve the lives of our supporters where we can.

“Unfortunately, many of us involved in the club have seen the damage that gambling addiction can do to individuals and their families. Increasingly we have seen how synonymous gambling and football have become, particularly in the UK, with a continual flow of endorsements by former players and celebrities to normalise this relationship.

“We want to see this trend reversed in the UK and we want to stop it before it takes over the League of Ireland. We hope that our stance will be backed by other clubs in the league, and we hope that the League of Ireland can be the first league to self-regulate and ban gambling advertising in football.”