Aviva Insurance has announced its return to sponsorship of the FAI’s Soccer Sisters initiative for 2017.
The brand was an original sponsor of the campaign to get more 7-12 year old girls active playing soccer and has now come back again with an even longer term commitment through to 2020.
Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team manager, Sue Ronan, was at the Aviva Stadium where the details of 2017 Aviva Soccer Sisters programme were announced.
Ronan will bid farewell to the dugout this Saturday as she steps down after an involvement in management that stretches back over 20 years. On Monday she will step into a new role as Head of women’s Football with the FAI and we will have an exclusive Sport for Business Members’ interview with her on Monday morning.
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Ronan was joined at the Aviva Stadium yesterday by several members of her squad including Stephanie Roche, Denise O’Sullivan and Shelbourne’s recent FAI Cup hat-trick hero, Leanne Kiernan.
Roche was a particular hit with the young girls anxious to get into a selfie with the one time Puskas Award nominee who did so much in 2014 to lift the profile of Women’s soccer.
The Aviva Soccer Sisters Programme includes a range of initiatives aimed at attracting new girls to the game and also at fostering the enjoyment of the those already playing soccer across the country.
Since been first introduced in 2006, over 25,000 girls have taken part in the programme. In that time the amopunt of girls playing football nationwide has doubled. In 2016 over 110 venues in Ireland hosted a Soccer Sisters camp with almost 2,800 girls involved.
Along with the traditional Easter Camps, there will be club and school programmes and a new Aviva Soccer Sisters Nursery Academy which will give girls between the ages of 5 and 8 years old the chance to play football for the first time.
Aviva’s sponsorship aims to expand the number of venues to 120 across the country during 2017. Aviva will also host a Soccer Sisters National Blitz at the Aviva Stadium in May 2017. This will give young players from all over the country the chance to play at the home of irish soccer.
“Aviva is delighted to be involved with the Soccer Sisters programme for 2017,” said Mark Russell, Sponsorship Manager with Aviva.
“We want to help expand the reach of the Soccer Sisters camps across the country to help get more clubs and schools involved in 2017.”
“This is another example of Aviva’s grassroots programmes where, just as in our sponsorship of the IRFU’s Mini Rugby, we are helping to create the heroes of tomorrow who we hope will be wearing the green jersey in years to come.”
Aviva won the Best Grassroots Sponsorship last night at the 2016 Sponsorship Awards
“The Soccer Sisters programme has undoubtedly helped to increase participation within the schoolgirl’s game nationwide,” said Sue Ronan.
“Over 25,000 girls have come through the programme since it began in 2006. It has proved to be a great way of introducing girls to the game, and many have continued in the game by joining their local club”
“It’s great to see so many option for young girls,” added Roche.
“Getting them involved at an early age is vital because it will boost the number of girls playing in Ireland which in turn gives us a bigger pool of players to choose from on an international front.”
