Mick McCarthy, Colin Bell and John Delaney lend support to 3-year partnership supporting grassroots and national team
SPAR, Ireland’s leading convenience retail group, and the Football Association of Ireland recently announced a sponsorship agreement which will see SPAR renew as the Official Convenience Store of the FAI. The announcement took place at the Aviva Stadium with FAI Chief Executive John Delaney, Republic of Ireland’s new manager Mick McCarthy along with Head Coach of the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team, Colin Bell in attendance.
The partnership between SPAR and the FAI began in 2015 encompassing the Irish national football team and the hugely successful SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme. The renewal will see SPAR continue with its dedicated support of Irish football until 2021, encompassing grassroots level up and down the country as well as supporting Irish hopes and dreams on the international stage.
SPAR’s title sponsorship of the SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme has been particularly impactful for the last four years, helping to grow the programme from 20,000 participants and 1,000 primary schools in 2015 to 31,728 participants and 1,528 primary schools in 2018 and giving thousands of children the opportunity to play on the hallowed turf of the AVIVA Stadium on National Finals day.
SPAR’s network of over 400 local retailers have championed the programme encouraging young people to enjoy the benefits of physical activity and helping make it the largest primary schools’ competition in the country.
The application process is now open for the 2019 SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme. The closing date for all counties is Friday, February 15th at 5pm. It could be your School playing in the National Finals on May 29th, so sign up now for your chance to go all the way and create a day to remember for your School and its students.
Speaking about the agreement Colin Donnelly, SPAR Sales Director commented: “We are very excited to be extending our relationship with the FAI for this unique partnership that, at its essence, encourages children to get involved in sport. We have achieved a 63% increase in overall participation numbers since 2015 and have ambitious plans to continue to grow and develop the SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme. This is a very exciting time for Irish football with Mick McCarthy returning as Ireland manager and we’re looking forward to being a part of the FAI’s next chapter.
“We have over 400 high quality, conveniently located SPAR stores in cities, towns and villages the length and breadth of Ireland. Like SPAR, the FAI have a strong presence in communities throughout the country making this a partnership to be proud of.”
FAI Chief Executive John Delaney said: “The FAI are delighted to extend our partnership with SPAR, who have played a huge role in helping to increase participation amongst kids with the excellent SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme. There has been a 137 per cent rise in participation numbers since the Programme first started – with 41 per cent female – and that is hugely important for the growth of the game.
“SPAR are one of the premier brands in Ireland and we are excited to continue working closely with them for the next three years.”
