After two years of serious disruption due to Covid-19, hopes are high that the 2022 Allianz Leagues will proceed as normal this season, starting with football which begins this weekend.

This will be the 30th season that Allianz have been title sponsors of the Allianz Leagues, making it one of the longest sponsorships in Irish sport.

To celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the sponsorship, Allianz is launching a new creative campaign that will run across TV and digital throughout the Allianz Leagues season.

The advert will look at how the competition has grown in stature and significance over the 30 years of Allianz’ tenure to become one of the most fiercely contested competitions in the GAA calendar.

There’s an air of excitement across all counties as the Allianz Football League returns to its usual timing and format after last year’s truncated version. The competition also didn’t begin until mid-May and unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to play finals in Divisions 1, 2 and 4.

Martin and Ryan McHugh were made available to media as part of today’s launch and you will read and hear their words across mainstream media tomorrow morning.

It’s back to a January start this year, with seven rounds scheduled between this weekend and the end of March, paving the way for finals weekend on April 2/3.

TV Coverage will be split across RTÉ showing Dublin against Armagh and TG4 covering Mayo V Donegal and Tyrone V Monaghan.

The games will also be the first to take place without the water break which has been removed from all GAA competitions with immediate effect.

And to think we never got a chance to have it branded as the Ballygowan Water break or something similar.

“It is a huge source of pride that we enter into our 30th year as sponsor of the Allianz Leagues,” said CEO Sean McGrath.

“As a longstanding partner of the GAA, we have taken immense pride in witnessing the growth of this competition in terms of profile, status, and quality.”

“Such is the public appetite for Gaelic Games that we now enjoy extensive coverage of the Allianz Leagues and as we return to our traditional position in the GAA calendar and the return of crowds, we can all look forward to another enthralling campaign and some of the most competitive matches of the year.”

“The start of the Allianz Football League is always enthusiastically welcomed by all GAA supporters,” added GAA President Larry McCarthy. “The promise of Spring is as potent as ever as teams ready themselves for the 2022 campaign.”

“It is particularly noteworthy that this is Allianz’ 30th year supporting these competitions. This longstanding partnership is one of the strongest in Irish sport and I’d like to acknowledge the ongoing support of Allianz in helping us to bring our games to the widest audience possible.”

Dublin and Kerry, who shared the Division 1 title last year, begin their campaigns against Armagh and Kildare respectively. Dublin host Armagh in Croke Park on Saturday night while Kerry face Kildare in Newbridge on Sunday in a game that will have a special resonance for Jack O’Connor who managed the Lilywhites in 2020-21.

Key Dates in the Allianz Football Leagues

Jan 29/30: Round 1

Feb 5/6: Round 2

Feb 19/20: Round 3

Feb 26/27: Round 4

Mar 12/13: Round 5

Mar 19/20: Round 6

Mar 27: Round 7

Apr 2/3: Finals

 
 

Sport for Business Perspective

It’s the best of the best across seven weekends of action and in front of audiences as big as we want them to be. The Championship last year did allow for the return of fans but there is still something special about the cold Saturday nights and brisk Sunday afternoons of winter and spring and it’s great to have them back.