Irvine Silver amid sponsor competition

Martyn Irvine, the Northern Ireland cyclist won two medals at the weekend’s UCI World Cup held in Glasgow.  This was the first major event to be held at the venue which wil play host to the Commonwealth games in 2014.
Irvine won a bronze medal at those Games when they were last held in India in 2010.  He featured in Electric Ireland’s Olympic advertising campaign earlier this year and posed an interesting example of multi sponsor accommodation in Glasgow.
Irvine was riding for Team Ireland who are supported by brands such as Subway and Skoda.  The Skoda branding was prominent on his clothing when receiving the medal on the podium.
One of the principal sponsors of the event though was rival auto manufacturer Fiat whose logo was displayed around the track at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.  Both brands benefit in their own way, not least through the fact that the competing rush for recognition is commented upon.
A similar case could easily arise in Gaelic Games where Vodafone sponsored Dublin will compete at the highest level in the Eircom sponsored All Ireland Football Championship.