Topaz to fuel Paralympics Team Ireland
Topaz, Ireland’s largest fuel and convenience retailer has been announced as the official fuel and convenience partner of the 2012 Irish Paralympic Team.
The company has confirmed a five-figure sponsorship deal with Paralympics Ireland in the lead-up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games and will promote the team and Irish Paralympic sport through its nationwide network of more than 320 sites.
Ireland is targeting a team of around 42 athletes across 9 sports, 26 of whom have already secured qualification in athletics, boccia, cycling, equestrian, rowing, sailing and table tennis.
“While the financial support is very important, especially in the current environment,” said Paralympics Ireland CEO Liam Harbison, “the fact that all the Topaz sites and employees will be supporting the team and promoting the games is very heartening.”
Paul Candon, Marketing and Corporate Services Director at Topaz, said the company wished the athletes well in their pursuit of a record haul of medals at London 2012.
“As a fully Irish owned and managed company we are thrilled to be supporting the endeavours of our elite Paralympians this August,” said Paul Candon, Marketing and Corporate Services Director of Topaz
Catherine Walsh is one of the athletes going for gold in London.  She agreed that the partnership had been well-received by the athletes:
“As an athlete who is targeting the podium at London 2012, it’s great to know a company like Topaz is getting behind the team. We’re aiming for a successful Games and the support will help bring the team’s achievements to a whole new audience in Ireland.”
Topaz joins Allianz, Cadbury, Cityjet, OCS, Renault and Vodafone as official sponsors of Paralympics Ireland.
AIB Honours GAA Club Stars
The countdown to the AIB GAA Club Championship Finals on St Patricks Day continued with the awarding of provincial honours to four club footballers, three club hurlers and two coaches in Dublin yesterday.
Among the winners were cousins Frankie and Dessie Dolan who landed the Connaught and Leinster awards for their efforts with St Brigids and Garrycastle.
Sponsors’ morality an issue for Olympic Stadium
Any potential sponsor looking to secure naming rights to the Olympic Stadium should agree to a ‘morality clause’, according to a branding expert speaking to the London Assembly.
Nigel Currie, a director of sports agency brandRapport, warned of the dangers of picking a company such as Dow Chemical, who currently sponsor the Olympic Stadium wrap.
This has been subject to loud protest over the Union Carbide chemical disaster in India in 1984.  Dow bought that company after the tragedy and campaigners claim it did not pay enough compensation to the thousands who died.
The resulting furore has led to calls in India for a boycott of the Games, and demands that the International Olympic Committee drops the company as a sponsor.
“You would consider certain categories – tobacco, alcohol, probably gaming as ones you would probably want to avoid,” he said.
Currie said that the “morality clause” should be in place for any sponsor of the Olympic Stadium so that in future, should a similar situation arise, damaged reputations would be financially rewarded.
No mention was made of the official partnership of BP with the London Olympic and Paralympic games.
Betdaq to sponsor night of champions in Kerry
The Kerry GAA County Board, the Irish Greyhound Board and the town of Tralee have put together a Night of Champions to be broadcast live on Sky Sports on June 30th.  The main sponsor of the event will be online betting exchange Betdaq.
Sky will show a two and a half hour live package from the Kingdom Greyhound Stadium, interspersed with features about life in the county.
“This is a tremendous initiative that will show Kerry, Tralee and two great sports in a fantastic light to a national and international audience,” said Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht.
One week from Cheltenham
This day next week the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival will be in full swing.  Paddy Power announced earlier in the week that it’s profits for last year were up by 16% and all the bookmaking firms will be rolling out initiatives around the biggest betting week of the year.
Betfair showed the advance of technology yesterday by launching a Chrome browser extension which enables bettors to check their odds while browsing sports related sites online, including those of competitors.  The company claims the technology was developed in house during a 24 hour think in about technology among its engineers.
This week’s Sport for Business Weekly will include a feature on the Cheltenham festival while horse racing will be the sport in the social media spotlight.