SuperValu Launch 'Community Pitch'

It has passed in almost the blink of an eye but yetserday in Dublin SuperValu launched the tenth year of their sponsorship of the GAA’s All Ireland Senior Football Championship.

Joined by their GAA ambassadors – Dublin’s Bernard Brogan, Mayo’s Andy Moran, Galway’s Damien Comer, Cork Captain Doireann O’Sullivan and former Cork star Valerie Mulcahy – SuperValu revealed that they will contribute over €2.6 million to the GAA and GAA Clubs across the country, this year.

Throughout their 10 years as GAA sponsor, SuperValu has contributed over €18 million to aid the development of the sport in counties and communities around the country.

“Our partnership with the GAA has been a fantastic fit for SuperValu,” said Marketing Director Ray Kelly.

“From GAA to Tidy Towns, SuperValu prides itself on being a valued member of every community in which we operate. Our GAA partnership has allowed us to support the development of the game – from where it all begins at grassroots level in towns and communities across Ireland, to players who represent their parish and county.”

“We are very proud to have been on this journey for the past decade and we look forward to continuing our support.”

As part of their sponsorship activity this Championship season, SuperValu will work with its ambassadors and the GAA community, to explore what it is that makes GAA so unique.

The importance of ‘Where You’re From’ and the passion it generates through both players and fans, will be explored through SuperValu’s 2019 GAA campaign.

That sense of community is a key element of each of the major sponsors campaigns this year, each of them touching on a slighly different way of looking at it but pretty much all focused on the small rather than the large, the building blocks rather than the capstone of players achievement within the GAA.

As a tangible benefit for clubs SuperValu has also launched the ‘SuperValu Community Pitch’ initiative.

Open to all GAA clubs from August, this is a bursary, set up to assist clubs with essential maintenance works, or facilities upgrades. Whether its upgrading changing rooms, investing in new lighting or purchasing a long-overdue piece of grounds-keeping equipment SuperValu wants to hear from clubs who need a helping hand.

This could work hand in hand with the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport’s Capital Sports Grant scheme, providing some of the club sourced finance that can leverage what the Government is putting into works. The GAA has always been the single biggest beneficiary of this and while no figure has been placed on either a maximum or a total value yet, it will be seen as a valuable element of the sponsorship by clubs, particularly those who are operating in a town alongside one of SuperValu’s 220 stores.

“GAA and GAA clubs are such an integral part of our communities and our national identity,” added Kelly.

“Club members and volunteers do such fantastic fundraising work, to improve their clubs and facilities but it’s hard to keep knocking on the same doors. With the introduction of this initiative, we will be able to help make a real difference by assisting some of those clubs with their maintenance works and upgrade plans.”