JACC Sports seek legal advice following FAI decision to end sponsorship deal

Distribution agency rejects ‘any purported effort by the association to terminate the agreement’ which is due to run until 2026

The FAI released a short statement confirming the termination of the arrangement and thanking JACC Sports “for all its support to the association over the years”. Photograph: Giuseppe Fama/Inpho

The distribution agency that supplies the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) with its Umbro kit is seeking legal advice following the termination of a sponsorship deal due to run until 2026.

JACC Sports, owned by Jonathan Courtenay, responded to an email from FAI chairman Roy Barrett on Monday morning rejecting “any purported effort by the association to terminate the agreement”.

JACC and the FAI had agreed a six-year extension in 2019 to run until after the 2026 World Cup in North America. It was the sixth time JACC/Toplion renewed their sponsorship of Irish football, in a relationship that began in 1994.

“We find it highly irregular and unwarranted in terms of any working, that the association’s longest standing, most loyal sponsor, and the sponsor which has contributed more financially than any other sponsor to the association would be treated this way,” stated JACC Sports.

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“We are taking legal advice and will not be making any further comment at this time.”

Earlier, the FAI released a short statement confirming the termination of the arrangement and thanking JACC Sports “for all its support to the association over the years”.

JACC, a business based in west Dublin, has also represented brands such as Nike, New Balance, Under Armour and Converse.

Gavin Cummiskey

Gavin Cummiskey

Gavin Cummiskey is The Irish Times' Soccer Correspondent