Like their Premier League colleagues, all ten of the SSE Airtricity First Division Clubs have secured front of shirt sponsorship deals for the 2019 season.
Here we take a whistle-stop tour of the brands backing the teams in the second tier.
Athlone Town
Top Oil have stayed on board as the main club sponsor this season. We will be having a chat with Andrew Meagher, the company’s Head of Sales in the coming weeks to talk about this and other elements of the companies sports sponsorship portfolio.
Bray Wanderers
Matt Britton Carpets will be on the shirt as Bray look to bounce back. New club owner Niall O’Driscoll has added his major insurance broker O’Driscol O’Neill to the sponsorship roster as well. We hope to catch up with Niall to discover his plans in the coming weeks.
Lifestyle Sports, Hard Metal, Campus Oil and Fitzpatrick Motors are also on board.
Cabinteely
Cabo has a strong line up of commercial supporters this season with Geoghegan Home Extensions once more taking the lead, Friends First, Sherry Fitzgerald, Windsor, the Royal Marine Hotel, Core Credit Union and the Sallynoggin Inn all listed. They are perhaps unique in having a funeral service as a sponsor with Massey Bros filling that important role.
We will be dropping in on Chairman Larry Bass during the season, once he has Dancing With the Stars wrapped up from his day job running Shinawil, the TV production company.
Cobh Wanderers
Health drink Vit Hit is on the shirt front for Cobh this season. Local supermarkets Garveys Supervalu and Keating’s Londis are also backers alongside BMC Cobh, Merck Millipore and Coral Leisure.
Drogheda United
Scotch Hall Shopping Centre are long term partners and back again in this the club’s centenary year. The club has an impressive secondary list as well with Turkish Airlines, Anglo Printers and Gemini Capital Management on board. We’ll be having a chat with new Chairman Conor Hoey about the future of the club in the coming weeks.
Galway United
Property developers Comer Group Ireland are the clubs main sponsor and adorn the Puma designed kits. Atlantic, Apache Pizza, Titan HQ, Ground and Co, Pressed 4 Time laundry, Kingfisher and Galway City are also backing the club as well as Irish language promoter Foras na Gaeilge. Maith thú Gaillimh.
Limerick
Limerick are one of the teams to have a betting partner on the shirt front with Turkish online operator BetSat taking that position. IQ Print, Greenheat Group and Surge have secondary partnerships with the club
Longford Town
City Calling is an online jobs network who are not only on the shirt but also on the name of Longford Town’s stadium. That will reap a double reward this season as the town hosts matches in the UEFA U17 Championship Finals being held in Ireland in May.
Shelbourne
Shels have been one of the busiest clubs off the pitch in the close season. DCU are on board as shirt front sponsors for both the men’s and women’s teams while expanding gym network Flyefit are new for this season and will also feature on the Umbro styled kit.
Feehan Consultancy Group, Daniel Whelan Tiling and Bathrooms, the Northside People newspaper and Tickets.ie also have deals with the Dublin club who released a great promotional video this week ahead of their first home game.
Wexford FC
Mick Wallace’s own brand adorns the shirt this season with secondary sponsorship in from Energia, Enniscorthy Motor Group, MSS Building Services, Lifestyle Life and Fitness and the Collective Sensory Group.
Sport for Business will be dropping in on a number of the SSE Airtricity League clubs throughout the season, highlighting the challenges and opportunities faced by the clubs off the field as well as on.
