FAI Unveil New Cup Sponsor

The FAI Cup is to have a new brand identity even if the sponsor remains the same. The draw for the first round took place last night and before the balls were drawn it was revealed that it would be known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup.
The digital news brand was created by the Irish Daily Mail in 2017, two years after they took over sponsorship of the tournament from Ford.
The change in branding was announced by FAI Competitions Director Fran Gavin saying “We are delighted to announce Extra.ie as our new title sponsors of the FAI Cup.”
“This is an exciting sponsorship for the competition and we look forward to working with Extra.ie to help bring this fantastic tournament to new levels in 2019.”
“I’d like to thank Paul Henderson at the Irish Daily Mail Group for his support and all of the staff at Extra.ie as we look to build on last year’s success where we saw over 30,000 supporters at the Aviva Stadium for the Final.”
The deal is for an initial two years and Extra.ie branding will be rolled out from the first round of matches scheduled to take place during the week of August 4th.
Bohemians will face Dublin rivals and soon to be ground sharers at the new Dalymount Park Shelbourne FC while Shamrock Rovers host Finn Harps and Cork City travel to face Cabinteely FC, going well in fourth place in the SSE Airtricity League First Division.
Extra.ie generates content drawn from the Daily Mail Group as well as a dedicated team of online journalists. It covers news, sport and entertainment.
The most read story on the site this morning covers activities on Love Island but it is certainly content rich and the exposure of the sponsorship will no doubt lift its profile.
The social media presence is still quite light with just under 1,500 followers on twitter this morning and no active presence yet on Instagram.
“From the players and managers, right down to the die-hard fans, we will be looking to keep the cup alive before, during and after the 90 minutes of action, through our website and social media platforms,” said Garrett Brennan, Editor of Extra.ie.
With the FAI’s own social channels consistently topping the engagement rates as part of the Sport for Business and Olytico Irish Sport Social Media Report, the hope will be that some of that gloss will be reflected in the sponsors’ presence as well.
Regardless it is a positive story from the FAI Sponsorship team after what has been a torrid few months.