Allianz and the GAA kicked off promotion of this year’s Allianz Leagues in Football and Hurling with a Facebook live streamed session at Croke Park featuring Johnny Cooper of Dublin, Donncha Walsh of Kerry and Sean McGrath of Allianz.
The Leagues are in the 25th year of sponsorship from Allianz.
This year the semi finals, which were reintroduced in 2012, have been dropped so that each of the top two teams in the round robin matches will play each other in the Finals which will take place over the weekend of April 8th and 9th.
That will mean less excitement towards the last round or two of games which up until now have had something guaranteed to play for with four teams getting into semi finals and two facing relegation.
It is though a recognition of the fixtures issue which will once again come before Congress next month and feature in the GAA’s Annual report of the Director General to be published later this morning.
Read about the fixtures issue around the GAA All Ireland Football Championship
Yesterday’s launch was carried live on Facebook with an average audience of 100’s at a time logging in at lunchtime and following events in Croke Park.
The set up of the stream is simpler than many might imagine with the pictures captured on an iPhone set up on a simple tripod.
Read more of our coverage of Social media on Sport for Business
eir’s TV coverage of the Allianz Leagues will be launched in Dublin tomorrow. It is unlikely will will see live streaming yet of all the games in the tournament but perhaps that is closer at hand than we might imagine.
“2017 marks a special milestone in our longstanding support of Gaelic Games as we enter the 25th year of our relationship with the GAA as sponsors of the Allianz Leagues,” said Sean McGrath. CEO of Allianz and a Cavan man whose team will face Dublin in their first game on returning to Division One.
“Over the course of the past quarter of a century we have witnessed these games grow, evolve and develop at all levels while the traditional values associated with our sport have remained as poignant and powerful as ever.”
“We look forward with great excitement to the opening of the 2017 season and to the years to come.”
“We are excited to embark on another season of nail-biting inter-county action as we prepare for the commencement of the 2017 Allianz Leagues,” added GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghail.
“The opening weekend of the Allianz Football League welcomes some intriguing match-ups across all four divisions which will surely set the tone for another competitive and entertaining campaign.”
“We would also like to join our partners Allianz in celebrating the 25th year of their sponsorship of the Allianz Leagues. Their long-standing support of the competition and Gaelic Games has contributed immensely to the growth of our games and we look forward to working with them again in 2017.”
Image Credit: Sportsfile and Rob Hartnett
