There was a real sense of excitement around yesterday’s live launch of the SSE Airtricity Leagues.
This is the first season where the Men’s and Women’s Leagues will share a sponsor, and the equal billing theme carried through to the launch video from the sponsor which can be seen below.
We shared it yesterday on social media and racked up almost 7,000 views on a single tweet with the reaction uniformly positive.
There is substance behind the launch as well as style with prize money at the highest level in a decade for the Men’s Leagues and up 141 per cent for the Women’s.
“The support for the League of Ireland from David Manning and all the team in SSE Airtricity over the past decade has been immense and by adding the Women’s National League to the sponsorship we feel that this partnership will develop even further over the next two seasons,” said League of Ireland Director Mark Scanlon.
Increase
“Prize money will increase to €600,000 this year in the Men’s leagues and this represents the highest figure since 2010, this is possible due to the support of SSE Airtricity and Bank of Ireland. We’re also delighted to announce that the prize money for the Women’s National League increases by 141% this year to €50,000. Another significant support for the clubs this year is the continued waiving of affiliation fees and referees fees.”
The gap is still significant and would be unacceptable in most other forms of ‘work’ but this is still a positive development and so long as it keeps shrinking, ideally with greater speed over the coming years, then that is moving in the right direction.
“Bank of Ireland coming on board as an associate sponsor to the League of Ireland is another key partnership for the future as we look to work with our clubs to expand the ‘More Than a Club’ programme, to enhance the community outreach of the League of Ireland.”
“RTÉ Sport have renewed their commitment to the League of Ireland with a new broadcasting deal for the Premier Division which includes TV and the WATCHLOI streaming platform. We are also very excited about the recent announcement of LOI TV and the new platform will allow us to work with the clubs to stream all First Division and Women’s National League games. Bringing all games to the clubs’ loyal fans is the most important objective and we hope to see a return to stadiums during the season.”
“Last season was unexpected and had many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic but we were delighted to bring the season to a successful conclusion, we thank the Government and Sport Ireland for their financial assistance and support of the League of Ireland. This support allowed us to complete the 2020 season and we welcome the support that we have received so far in 2021.”
Protocols
“There has been a significant amount of work in the off season by the League Department, the NLEC and the clubs. COVID-19 protocols have been updated, new rules have been implemented for the 2021 season to help deal with COVID-19 cases in clubs and workshops have taken place with Club Officials, Managers, Captains, Medical Staff, Event Controllers, COVID Compliance Officers, Referees representatives and Media Officers. Everyone is excited ahead of the kick-off and raring to go for a full season in 2021.”
“I think for each of us – players, clubs, supporters and communities we’re all looking forward to the leagues kicking-off from March 19,” added David manning, Marketing Director for SSE Airtricity.
“We have introduced our ‘game of two halves’ campaign. When you look at both the men’s and women’s leagues, you’ll see some differences, yet one place you will find absolute parity is the “commitment of the players”.”
“No matter the League the players train and play just as hard, just as passionately. At SSE Airtricity, we’re delighted to sponsor the whole game.”
Sport for Business Partners
