As part of the build up to Friday’s Liberty Women’s Network Breakfast on the subject of Women’s sport we have spoken to a number of the key sponsors that have come on board in support of Women’s teams and programmes over the last year.
Yesterday we learnt from Continental Tyres what it is that prompted their involvement with the Women’s National League in soccer. Today we turn our attention to Tesco and it’s support for Women’s Gaelic Football and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.
We are joined by Christine Heffernan, Corporate Affairs Director of Tesco Ireland
What are the key things that attracted you towards Women’s sport in terms of your sponsorship portfolio?
First of all, we want to support the communities in which we operate and serve and to give something back and support amateur and grassroots sport. The GAA and more specifically the Ladies Gaelic Football Association is a 32 county body in almost every town and parish in Ireland. The clubs are social hubs and provide a great outlet for women at all ages to stay healthy and participate in sport from young girls to busy Mums.
Commercially, the householder and bill payer is a direct target audience for us, and ladies football, with over 100,000 members, gave us a platform to talk to this demographic on a consistent basis.
Finally, we felt strongly that by activating this sponsorship we could assist Ladies Football to attract more support and more members which can only be a good thing if more women get involved in sport. The more profile we can bring through our partnership the better.
You are part of driving greater credibility and awareness of Women’s sport. Is that important to Tesco?
Absolutely. There has been a coherent and consistent push by Government and the Sports Council to invest in female sports participation and this is very much a welcome development. For years, females tended to drop off from sport and team sports in particular after leaving school.
Some of our greatest sports stars are female, from Sonia O’Sullivan to Katie Taylor to stars of Ladies Football like Sinead Goldrick, Valerie Mulcahy and Cora Staunton. It is vital that young girls have female role models to look up to and our support of the Ladies National Leagues, Club Championships and Post Primary Schools in particular facilities this.
Female sports associations need support and sponsorship to achieve their lofty ambitions and we are delighted to be part of this process. More sponsorship means more awareness and profile.
Do you feel that support and coverage is growing quickly enough or is this going to be a longer term advance?
This is an ongoing process and takes time. The profile of female sports has increased due to the popularity of Ladies Football and Camogie and the recent successes of Katie Taylor, Irish Women’s Rugby team and the Irish soccer team. I think the growth in popularity of swimming, running and cycling too amongst females is a positive thing.
I think sponsors can play a role and use their expertise to promote female sports and ensure that the starts of female sports are put up on a pedestal. Tesco will look at every avenue to promote its partnership with Ladies Football and increase the profile of the sport and we look forward to playing our part.
What would you say are three things that Women’s sport can do for itself to boost its own profile?
- Embrace digital in a clever way for standout
- Target proactive sponsors that will promote your sport
- Ensure that superstars are created and the more “Katie Taylors” and “Sonia O’Sullivans” we have the more people will develop an affinity with sports and follow female sports. Media and supporters need superstars. Just look at the interest that was created around women’s rugby and new stars like Fiona Coughlan Niamh Briggs emerged as a case in point.
