Player sponsorship dealThe future of the Gaelic Players Association has been "effectively secured" as a result of the new endorsement deal with soft drinks firm Cantrell and Cochrane (C&C), the full details of which were announced at Croke Park yesterday.
The deal goes well beyond just the players' sponsorship disclosed earlier this week, and is expected to generate €500,000 for the GPA in the first three years of an initial 10-year agreement with C&C.
Central to the endorsement deal was the launch of the new C&C sports drink, Club Energise. The product has been in shops since Monday and will be promoted by 10 county GAA players for the first two months of an overall marketing campaign that has a €1 million budget. Significantly, the product is to be marketed strictly towards GAA circles.
The identity of the 10 players was also confirmed, as was their endorsement fee of €2,250. The first campaign consists of a poster promotion from county hurlers DJ Carey (Kilkenny), Setanta Ó hAilpín (Cork), Tommy Dunne (Tipperary) and Conal Keaney (Dublin), and footballers Sean De Paor (Galway), Peter Canavan (Tyrone), Paul McGrane (Armagh), Seamus Moynihan (Kerry), Muiris Gavin (Limerick) and Jason Sherlock (Dublin).
A further 11 county players - yet to be finalised - will be involved in additional promotional work during that period. Another group of players will be utilised for the next stage of the marketing campaign later this year. The players selected will be used to promote the product in their own county area only, and up to 200 different players are to be utilised over the 10 years.
For the GPA, the association with C&C's new product has the potential to be of substantial benefit. It has been agreed that six per cent of the net revenue of every bottle of Club Energise sold will go to the GPA and their efforts to improve player welfare, and also develop the grass roots of Gaelic games.
"This is a ground-breaking partnership for us," said Dessie Farrell, chief executive of the GPA. "It is a truly worthwhile project, and we're very optimistic that the GAA community will see the benefits of it, and make this the sports drink of their choice."
Donal O'Neill, commercial director of the GPA, highlighted the impact the deal would have on the GPA. "Financially, this is definitely our biggest deal so far," he said. "It has effectively secured the future of the GPA, and once again says we are here to stay. And is also allows us to negotiate the image rights of players on a collective basis."
Farrell added that if the product is successful and generates the sort of figures suggested it would facilitate the permanent establishment of the association as an autonomous representative body for players nationwide. The sports drink market is valued at €50 million, and is growing annually at a rate of 25 per cent.
"The other point to make is that we're not seeking to monopolise player endorsements," he said. "But we do feel now that we can replicate this sort of deal with other projects. Another one is definitely in the pipeline and will be announced in the next six weeks and, again, will benefit the GPA and players in general."
There were, said Farrell, four main areas in which the GPA has already decided to target the funds generated from the C&C partnership: to expand their third-level scholarship programme, to start up coaching and educational seminars, to introduce a grant scheme to GAA clubs, and to further enhance the strategies and profile of the GPA in general.
"I think the club grants scheme is particularly important for us. We hope to be in the position in the next couple of years to award funds specifically for coaching initiatives in clubs, rather than improving grounds and facilities, and part of that will be the further utilisation of high-profile players.
"We will also set up a sub-committee to assess those grant applications, with special credence to the non-traditional hurling counties."
Farrell played down any significance of the announcement being held at GAA headquarters - nor any possible conflict with the GAA: "We've been totally transparent with the GAA on this, and the feedback we've got has been very positive."
Both GAA president Seán Kelly and director general Liam Mulvihill were invited to attend, though neither was present on the day. However, there was some official representation of the GAA.
The Energise drink, which has been developed by well-known Irish sports physiologist Dr Liam Hennessy, will almost certainly rival some of the leading brands on the market. For Jason Sherlock, one of the 10 players involved in the initial promotion, the importance of supporting the product went beyond the financial interest.
"To me the focus wasn't on the personal side of the deal. I think that any player involved with the GPA would see the greater good of this deal.
"We know we're not going to get rich out of this, but I think we all realised the bigger picture, which is the GAA in general benefiting from this drink. And anyone involved in the GAA who buys this drink is effectively putting something back into the games, even at grass roots level. And I think every GAA person at heart would be glad of an opportunity like that."
