GAELIC GAMES:MOBILE PHONE operator Vodafone has decided not to renew its sponsorship of the All-Ireland senior football championship, which concluded last Sunday with Cork winning their first title in 20 years.
The company is also in discussions with Croke Park about its long-standing support of the annual All Stars scheme, The Irish Timeshas learned.
Vodafone plans, instead, to focus its marketing efforts on the Dublin team. The company signed a six-year contract with the county earlier this year to become shirt sponsor of its various teams, replacing retailer Arnotts.
This deal is worth up to €800,000 a year to Dublin GAA.
Vodafone confirmed in a statement yesterday it had decided not to renew its three-year contract to sponsor the football championship, which cost about €1.4 million annually.
Vodafone was one of three sponsors of the football championship under a new model brought in by the GAA three seasons ago.
In February, it was announced that SuperValu had stepped in to sponsor the football championship, in a new three-year deal, to replace Toyota – who had opted out of their final year – and thus joined up with fellow co-sponsors Ulster Bank and Vodafone.
“We don’t envisage any difficulties with any of our sponsorship going forward, with our current companies or with future companies, given our brand,” commented GAA president Christy Cooney at the time of the SuperValu deal.
In addition, the mobile phone company is in talks with the GAA about its support of the All Stars scheme, which costs it about €500,000 a year. Vodafone has supported the All Stars for the past 13 years, dating back to the time when the company was known as Eircell and was owned by Eircom, the former State-owned telecoms group.
Sources close to the company said it is keen to retain this link. But this will depend on which direction the GAA takes in relation to its sponsorships.
The association is believed to be considering new formats, including possibly returning to a model where just one title sponsor is involved for the All-Ireland football and hurling championships.
The GAA is also thought to be looking at bundling the All-Ireland minor championship into its sponsorship packages.
The multi-sponsor approach, which is also used by Uefa for the Champions League, is understood to have received mixed reaction from the various sponsors, with some believing they were not able to leverage the association sufficiently.
When the GAA introduced their new sponsorship model three years ago, it also applied to the hurling championship, with Guinness, Etihad Airways and RTÉ initially believed to have paid €1.1 million a year for the first two years, although those deals have also since expired.
While Guinness and Etihad signed on for another two years, RTÉ didn’t, and the GAA thus announced in February that Centra would come in as the third sponsor for three years of the hurling championship.
In a statement yesterday, Ireland’s largest mobile phone operator said: “Vodafone Ireland has invested in the GAA substantially over the past 13 years, including the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship and the GAA All Stars.
“We review all of our sponsorships on a year-by-year basis. Vodafone committed to a three-year deal, which concluded this season, as joint sponsors of the GAA All-Ireland championship and we have decided not to renew this partnership.
“No decision has been made in relation to the All Stars, which Vodafone continues to support and activate.
“But we will be reviewing this partnership at the end of the year when it is due for renewal.”
Vodafone said it is pressing ahead with plans to take the GAA football All Stars to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia at the end of November. The company organises an overseas trip each year, alternating between football and hurling.
This sponsorship also involves player-of-the-month awards and a special dinner at the end of each season.
Vodafone spent about €2 million this year on its football championship and Dublin sponsorships and at least the same again on leveraging the partnerships through advertising and marketing.
