FAI enjoys banner year for sponsorship

This past year allowed the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to net more sponsorship money than in the past.

Six deals worth more than EUR 20 million have been signed over the past 12 months, including new deals with blue-chip sponsors such as Kellogg's, Ford and National Irish Bank.

The biggest deal was with sports manufacturer Umbro which, signed last month, is worth at least EUR 16.35 million over eight years. The company will sponsor a host of FAI competitions, including the Junior Cup, the Schools Cup and the Kennedy Cup.

Ford is the official vehicle supplier for the FAI and the new sponsor of the FAI Cup thanks to a deal valued at more than EUR 2.5 million over four years.

Carlsberg, which previously sponsored the FAI Cup, has become a corporate sponsor, dropping more than EUR 2 million into Irish football over the next four years.

The association spent almost EUR 10 million this past year to develop the game in Ireland, from grassroots all the way to the international level. The sponsorship deals would enable the FAI to increase its investment in the game.

Last August, the association signed a deal with Oceanico Developments, with the sponsor providing the association with EUR 200,000 in cash over a two-year period.

The FAI also signed a EUR 1.5 million deal with NIB, now the official business bank to the FAI. It will also sponsor the Schoolboy FAI National Cups and the Summer Soccer camps.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.