Dublin announce new Megabucks Sponsorship deal

freddiek · 09-10-2013 1:55am #1

The Gap is only going to get bigger folks

#notalevelplayingfield

AIG, the American insurance company that narrowly avoided collapse during the financial crisis, is the new sponsor of Dublin GAA.
The financial giant today signed a deal to sponsor the Dubs that is estimated to be worth €1 million a year over five years.
It brought forward the signing of the deal today following queries this morning from the Irish Times.
AIG, which needed an $85 billion US government credit line to avoid collapse in September 2008, the same month Lehmans Brothers collapsed, previously sponsored Manchester United.
The company offers a wide variety of insurance products in 160 countries.

Announcing the sponsorship, AIG Ireland General Manager Declan O'Rourke said: "This is a massive day for AIG in Ireland and we are thrilled to be associated with Dublin GAA. We are extremely proud to unite all the GAA family in the capital – Football, Hurling, Camogie and Ladies football – under one sponsorship brand, AIG.

"The future is bright for Gaelic games in the county, with strong clubs rooted in communities in the city, the suburbs and rural areas of county Dublin.

"As a sponsor, we hope to assist with the growth of Gaelic games and help Dublin promote these fantastic games which form part of the social fabric of Irish society.

"This sponsorship is a clear statement that AIG is committed to both the Irish insurance market and the Irish community for the long term. It solidifies AIG's track record of supporting amateur sport in Ireland.

"Dublin GAA is a huge organisation, supporting 92 clubs, 100,000 associated members, 320 active primary schools and organises 4,000 adult club games every year.

"As a passionate GAA supporter myself, I understand how important sponsorship revenue is to ensure that these structures are supported and to ensure GAA is promoted at all levels from GAA nurseries to the stars who appear in Croke Park."

Welcoming the deal, Dublin County Board Chairman Andy Kettle said: "This sponsorship deal is a really significant boost to everyone associated with Dublin GAA. The strength of the Dublin brand is illustrated by our ability to negotiate this outstanding sponsorship in a depressed economic market.

"AIG is a blue chip organisation with a proven track record in sponsorship and they are going to be an exceptional partner and they fully understand what we are trying to achieve in Dublin.

"The sponsorship revenue is critical in helping towards our expenditure on club coaching programmes and inter-county teams at all levels.

"AIG is also finalising their sponsorship activation plans which will promote GAA in the capital at all levels. We are very much looking forward to working closely with AIG over the next five years to ensure this partnership is mutually beneficial.

"This is an exciting time for Dublin GAA on and off the pitch. We have won the All-Ireland senior football title for the second time in three years and won our first Leinster senior hurling title since 1961 and have significantly increased underage participation levels in recent years. Attracting an organisation like AIG shows just how far we have come off the field."

AIG, who employ close to 400 people in Ireland, have over 150,000 policy holders in the country. Its principal products are car insurance, home insurance, travel insurance and commercial insurance.

iDave · 09-10-2013 9:00am

Leitrim got 15k from their sponsors in 2012.

y0ssar1an22 · 09-10-2013 9:14am

I'm no expert, in fact I dont have a clue but....
Isn't this game meant to be amateur? Why the need for the huge sponsorship deal? What people get a cut of this?

Moneymaker · 09-10-2013 9:30am

Oh look, freddiek made another thread with an anti-Dublin theme.

Why is this guy still allowed post here exactly?

Howard Juneau · 09-10-2013 9:39am

The amateur thing has not been strictly true for a long time.
Coaches get financial expense packages and have done for a long time. But I'm presuming that these new monies are going to be sunk into development of pitches, stands, player facilities & physical therapy, recovery. As well as youth development.
It could swing the balance in Dublins favour for years to come

BPKS · 09-10-2013 9:39am

Funny that a company who got an $85 billion bailout from the US government in 2008 can go around sponsoring Man Utd and Dublin GAA.

It would be the equivalent of Anglo Irish Bank sponsoring Swansea City and the Ospreys today.

El Viz · 09-10-2013 9:46am

..and here we go again. :rolleyes:

actua11 · 09-10-2013 9:58am

Would it be possbile to cap sponsorship received by counties? I mean this in such a way that the highest bidder (AIG in this case) wins sponsorship rights for Dublin GAA but a certain amount (20-30%) of that must be given back to a central GAA development fund to be redistributed around all the counties.

Essentially it would working like a sponsorship tax in that the biggest counties (like my Dublin) can contribute the most and the smaller counties like Leitrim would benefit relative to their own contribution. Thus any big gains by the bigger counties benefit the GAA as a whole.

Les Ferdinand · 09-10-2013 10:01am

iDave wrote: »

Leitrim got 15k from their sponsors in 2012.

And?? Cork got 350k for their sponsorship. Kerry Group are pumping significant money into Kerry football. That isn't fair on counties like Leitrim by your logic or what you're trying to imply is it? From reading on Twitter a lot of people are saying this sponsorship isn't fair on other counties. It's just jealously in my mind. Dublin have signed a 5 year contract worth in the region of 4 to 5 million. Not the low figure 2 million initially suggested. The population of Leitrim is under 30,000. Dublin have 200,000 GAA members. It's all relative. By their logic Dublin should have the same sponsorship money as a small county like Kildare. That doesn't make sense. Dublin have more teams, more organisation etc to pay for therefore need the large sponsorship and if a company wants to give 4 to 5 million then so be it.

Two years ago Dublin beat Kildare in Leinster by 1 point. Was that down to sponsorship money? This year Dublin won the All Ireland by 1 point. Was that down to sponsorship money.

Yes I'm speaking as a Dub but the Dublin County Board seem to be the only board in Ireland with aspirations into making their team a massive brand in Irish sport. They want to start up 'Dubs TV' They want to open up Dublin GAA shops in the city. They've actively pursued other sponsors. For instance, The Gibson Hotel beside the o2 is the official hotel of the Dubs. Aer Lingus is the official airline. RiverRock the official water. Nivia for men etc etc... The list goes on. This is to be applauded. No doubt other people on here will say other counties cannot attract such sponsors. To be honest I doubt other counties have tried.

Les Ferdinand · 09-10-2013 10:05am

I'll also add that the Dublin County Board said years ago "We want our hurling team challenging at the top" Look how they've gone about it. Brilliant work. Are Kerry pushing their hurling team? Mayo? Donegal? Are Kilkenny pushing their football team? No. Dublin GAA should be applauded even if it'll kill some of you to say so.

keeponhurling · 09-10-2013 10:05am

This can only be a positive thing, more money to the GAA to distribute.

€1 million a year is impressive, fair play

iDave · 09-10-2013 10:07am

Les Ferdinand wrote: »

And?? Cork got 350k for their sponsorship. Kerry Group are pumping significant money into Kerry football. That isn't fair on counties like Leitrim by your logic or what you're trying to imply is it? From reading on Twitter a lot of people are saying this sponsorship isn't fair on other counties. It's just jealously in my mind. Dublin have signed a 5 year contract worth in the region of 4 to 5 million. Not the low figure 2 million initially suggested. The population of Leitrim is under 30,000. Dublin have 200,000 GAA members. It's all relative. By their logic Dublin should have the same sponsorship money as a small county like Kildare. That doesn't make sense. Dublin have more teams, more organisation etc to pay for therefore need the large sponsorship and if a company wants to give 4 to 5 million then so be it.

Two years ago Dublin beat Kildare in Leinster by 1 point. Was that down to sponsorship money? This year Dublin won the All Ireland by 1 point. Was that down to sponsorship money.

Yes I'm speaking as a Dub but the Dublin County Board seem to be the only board in Ireland with aspirations into making their team a massive brand in Irish sport. They want to start up 'Dubs TV' They want to open up Dublin GAA shops in the city. They've actively pursued other sponsors. For instance, The Gibson Hotel beside the o2 is the official hotel of the Dubs. Aer Lingus is the official airline. RiverRock the official water. Nivia for men etc etc... The list goes on. This is to be applauded. No doubt other people on here will say other counties cannot attract such sponsors. To be honest I doubt other counties have tried.

I was quoting a tweet by Colm Keys from the Independent. Should of made it more clear but the hissy fit isn't necessary.

Les Ferdinand · 09-10-2013 10:09am

iDave wrote: »

I was quoting a tweet by Colm Keys from the Independent. Should of made it more clear but the hissy fit isn't necessary.

Not a hissy fit. I'm just pointing out facts as no doubt a lot on here will say it's not fair that Dublin get 4 million while Kildare get loads of ham.

zl1whqvjs75cdy · 09-10-2013 10:10am

There probably should be some sort of central fund for sponsorship money. For example all counties, whether you are sponsored for a tenner or ten million have to pay 30% into this fund, which is then used to improve facilities country wide.

I think there is a danger of a gap opening up in GAA (well a bigger one) in which Dublin will excel due to being the most marketable and will therefore attract the most sponsorship.

godtabh · 09-10-2013 10:16am

Money doesn't guarantee success. It does help.

Tom Joad · 09-10-2013 10:40am

You know the championship is over when these threads start popping up - great to see the begrudgery and jealousy from other counties too. Not a Dub by any stretch but lived there for a few years so could see first hand the enormous benefit that the GAA had for communities and how well it was run so if this sponsorship deal helps the GAA in Dublin - well done to Dublin County Board for securing it.

While other counties can't match the population of Dublin it's too easy an excuse to throw out that it's an unfair advantage - its up to other counties to maximise what they have. Don't forget that Dublin rebuilt their underage structures in both codes over the last 20 years so it's not as if they found a sugardaddy to buy success.

zl1whqvjs75cdy · 09-10-2013 10:42am

Yes of course other counties are jealous. Why is that a big deal? I'd fecking love if Kildare got a million quid sponsorship tomorrow. But we won't. We'll get a million hams maybe.

Tom Joad · 09-10-2013 10:48am

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Yes of course other counties are jealous. Why is that a big deal? I'd fecking love if Kildare got a million quid sponsorship tomorrow. But we won't. We'll get a million hams maybe.

It's not a big deal until thread after thread is started on here dressed up as something else .. let's split Dublin in two etc, etc.

That Brady's ham is seriously nice stuff so not a fair advantage - its like the cocaine of the ham world!! and poor old offally get that crappy carroll's stuff

rebel girl 15 · 09-10-2013 11:30am

It comes down to numbers - which team sells the most county jersies annually?? Its Dublin, with Cork further back. Thats why they can get the multi million euro deals.

Lot of anti-Dublin rubbish going on again, this success is coming out of 10 years hard work in schools and clubs. The Dublin board got grants that were going from different councils, and used the money successfully to put structures in place. The success is showing on the field - the fact that they sell the most merchandise means the price of their sponsorship is higher, but the success also contribute to raising the fee that they can command.

The Kerry group are pumping huge money into Kerry football, and this centre of excellence.

Great timing of the new agreement, and the fact the new jersey will be ready at the start of November, big hit in the Christmas market then. Hope Frank Murphy sits up and take note - thats how you organise a new sponsorship deal.

rebel girl 15 · 09-10-2013 11:38am

Just saw this fact on twitter

"AIG's sponsorship of Dublin #GAA is already paying off online. 700 mentions on Twitter in less than 24 hours, with a potential reach of 1.6m"

Moneymaker · 09-10-2013 11:39am

And I doubt Clare are swimming in cash either, yet they've produced arguably the most talented group of young players the game of hurling may have ever seen.

Money doesn't guarantee success. Hard work, a solid structure and plan in place, a lot of patience and some skill does however.

Stoner · 09-10-2013 12:35pm

keeponhurling wrote: »

This can only be a positive thing, more money to the GAA to distribute.

€1 million a year is impressive, fair play

I think it's 4M over 5 years for all Dublin teams, this I think is down from the last deal of 1M a year but not for all the teams, the ladies are in on the deal this year.

It's a longer term now too, so the branded goods should last longer. But I'm hanging on to my Vodafone rain gear.

RoscommonTom · 09-10-2013 7:17pm

Should be devided between all the counties, it's the fairest

Stoner · 09-10-2013 7:22pm

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Should be devided between all the counties, it's the fairest

Equally all 32 ex London etc sponsorship deals added up and divided by 32?

RoscommonTom · 09-10-2013 7:26pm

Stoner wrote: »

Equally all 32 ex London etc sponsorship deals added up and divided by 32?

Exactly it would be the fairest way, make it a level playing field for all involved

TheGoldenAges · 09-10-2013 7:34pm

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Exactly it would be the fairest way, make it a level playing field for all involved

How could this work though? I heard the Dublin County Board hired a marketing firm to negotiate the deal for them. What would be the point if whatever money they got was divided x32. It would be a disincentive to go after a lucrative deal. Although I agree the deal is hardly fair to smaller counties, I don't think this is the route to go down either...

theoneeyedman · 09-10-2013 7:40pm

BPKS wrote: »

Funny that a company who got an $85 billion bailout from the US government in 2008 can go around sponsoring Man Utd and Dublin GAA.

It would be the equivalent of Anglo Irish Bank sponsoring Swansea City and the Ospreys today.

This.
They also sponsor the All Black rugby team which can't come.cheap. These institutions have caused untold damage to society all over the world with their reckless business practices and corruption. Now sport is allowing them to launder their reputations through these deals, another of which is the HSBC and the British Lions deal.
Could you imagine the hubbub if Dublin were sponsored by Guinness, Jameson or Imperial Tobacco?
( Above rant is not necessarily directed at Dublin who are just looking out for the best deal for them )

Moneymaker · 09-10-2013 8:31pm

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Exactly it would be the fairest way, make it a level playing field for all involved

So you want the GAA to be run like a communist state basically?

Um,ok..

rebel girl 15 · 09-10-2013 8:36pm

Stoner wrote: »

Equally all 32 ex London etc sponsorship deals added up and divided by 32?

Eh, why ex London????

Tom Joad · 09-10-2013 8:51pm

RoscommonTom wrote: »

Should be devided between all the counties, it's the fairest

If you go down that road where do you stop!! - should all the costs be divided equally too? do you ban counties who are in the red from competing? do you close clubs that have been bailed out by Croke Park.. Lets have a draft system like American football to even up the game... lets make the provincial system fairer, lets split Kerry and Dublin in two, Lets ban managers from outside the county.......

Life ain't fair but we can all sit around wringing our hands and blaming something else for the fact that our counties haven't won an all-Ireland in forever and not get our own house in order or why not do something about it - Clare hurling is a cracking example or Donegal in football last year..

Stoner · 09-10-2013 11:44pm

rebel girl 15 wrote: »

Eh, why ex London????

All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.

I didn't really mean it as a serious arguement , I was pointing out that counties with small populations would get the same money as counties with relatively large populations. So a lad in Cork might get two hurls a year but a Leitrim lad would end up with 10 to 15 times more.

Dublin announce new Megabucks Sponsorship deal

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