Cork GAA and Sports Direct extend sponsorship deal

Cork County Board and Sports Direct have agreed a three-year extension to the five-year sponsorship deal which began in 2021.

Should the parties’ agreement – estimated at €400,000 per annum when it commenced, with various bonuses based on success – run until the end of 2028 as planned, Sports Direct would match the tenure of previous sponsors Chill Insurance, trailing behind only O2 in terms of longevity with Cork.

In a press release, Cork and Sports Direct said that “the partnership has proven to be one of the most successful in Irish sports sponsorship in recent years, and this extension reflects Sports Direct’s commitment to the future of Cork GAA.

“The extended partnership will include the continued sponsorship of the Cork senior hurling and football teams as well as the minor and U20 teams.”

Sports Direct, which has six stores in Cork – will launch a new line of Cork training gear to coincide with the sponsorship extension. Launching on Friday and exclusive to Sports Direct outlets, the new red and black training kit features an abstract design and as usual will be available across all age groups.

“The tagline for the new campaign, “Train. Transform. Triumph,” encourages players of all levels to train for or within their county and it is a match day must have for supporters,” said the statement.

Marc Sheehan, Cork County Board chairperson, said: “We are very excited to be extending our partnership with Sports Direct, which has had a really positive impact for Cork GAA.

“Having the backing of Sports Direct lets us embark on our future journey with confidence and the belief that our training programmes are helping to transform our players into triumphant stars of GAA and we hope that we can give our fans something to get excited about.

“We are delighted now to launch our new training kit, which incorporates a unique design for Cork GAA and one that I hope will be well-received by both players and fans. The lightning strikes represent the power of our players and the strength of our teams as they face future challenges over the next season.”

His sentiments were echoed by Leonard Brassel, the managing director of Sports Direct Ireland.

“We have been extremely proud of our partnership with Cork GAA, both on and off the pitch, and are delighted to extend the current partnership to eight years,” he said.

“The collaboration with Cork GAA has helped us to champion the legend in everyone and while we support both codes across six teams the supporters are equally important to us.

“We understand the fans passion and commitment to the game and county which is brought into the unparalleled design of the latest training kit. We are equally as ambitious as Cork in the success of this partnership.”

When the GAA allowed shirt sponsorship in 1991, Barry’s Tea became the first name to be emblazoned across the Cork chest. They were replaced by Esat Digifone in 1997, with the O2 logo appearing in 2002 following the takeover of Esat.

The next change did not come until Chill succeeded O2 in 2013, with their tenure lasting until the end of 2020. Since Sports Direct became sponsor, Cork have won three All-Ireland U20 hurling titles and one minor championship.