Yoplait has been unveiled this morning as the new primary commercial partner of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association Higher Education Committee third-level championships.

As part of this sponsorship deal, Yoplait Ireland has also been confirmed as ‘Official Yogurt of the LGFA’, with leading colleges and inter-county stars on hand at Croke Park to mark the launch of the new partnership.

Yoplait Ireland will now sponsor the flagship third-level Colleges competition, the O’Connor Cup, which will now be known as the Yoplait O’Connor Cup, and which gets underway this week.

The brand will also assume title rights of the HEC’s Giles, Lynch, Moynihan, Donaghy, Lagan and HEC Cups.

First Time

This is the first time that the popular brand has been involved as a partner with Irish sport and tomorrow morning we will have an interview with Brand manager Deirdre Lowry to talk about what this could mean now and into the future.

This news is a major boost to third-level Ladies Gaelic Football, as Dublin City University prepares to host the concluding stages of the various Championships in March.  The Championships went unplayed in 2020 and 2021 as the sector struggled to manage through Covid and lockdowns.

The loss of those tournaments is particularly keen for students who missed out on the chance to play and for whom the chance was lost as College life is but a fleeting period in their lives and playing careers.

The Yoplait Donaghy, Lagan and HEC Cup Finals will be played on Tuesday, March 8, to coincide with International Women’s Day.

The Yoplait Moynihan Cup Final will be played on Friday, March 11 at DCU, with the Yoplait O’Connor Cup, Giles Cup and Lynch Cup semi-finals pencilled in for the same day.

On Saturday, March 12, the Yoplait O’Connor Cup, Giles Cup and Lynch Cup finals will be played.

Honoured

“We feel honoured to become the main sponsor of the LGFA’s Higher Education Cup Competitions for many reasons,” said Yoplait Brand manager Deirdre Lowry.

“Generations of Irish athletes have grown up on Yoplait during the last 50 years and we remain an everyday favourite in sports bags, lunch boxes and at kitchen tables around the country. ”

“We are now witnessing a rising tide in the acknowledgement and celebration of Women in Sport in Ireland. ”

“The LGFA Third-Level Players and their unerring commitment to simultaneous study, work, life and sport are the embodiment of our belief that we will succeed if we always believe in the very best of ourselves, our many communities and of life itself.”

“We are delighted to welcome Yoplait on board as sponsors of our third-level Championships, and as official Yogurt of the LGFA,” said Association President Micheál Naughton.

Absence

“Following an absence of two years, we are really looking forward to our HEC Championships in March, with the League competitions played before Christmas serving to whet the appetite for what lies in store.”

“Dublin City University will serve as brilliant hosts for the concluding stages of our competitions, and it is wonderful to be in a position to play three of the Finals on International Women’s Day.”

“We are excited about the opportunity that this sponsorship offers us to support and further develop our game in Colleges and Universities across the island,” added Ladies Higher Education Committee chairperson, Daniel Caldwell.

“We have a growing number of teams and players registered with the HEC and sponsorship plays a key role in supporting and promoting athletes across our competitions.”

“With games beginning on February 1 across seven competitions, we have an opportunity to see players from different counties and clubs set aside rivalries and play together in their college colours. It is that unique aspect of competition at the College/University level that adds to the intensity and excitement of the Yoplait HEC championships.”

All seven HEC Championships get underway this week, with 2019 O’Connor Cup winners and holders University of Limerick playing UCD on Thursday February 3.

Also in the Yoplait O’Connor Cup this week, Queens University Belfast meet UCC on Wednesday, with NUI Galway up against DCU Dóchas Éireann on Thursday.

 

Sport for Business Perspective

It is great to get such a major brand involved in sport, particularly given the lessons they will have learned from being a partner of Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics last year.