TG4 continue Ladies sponsorship

MOVE over boys, the girls are coming.

That was the message as the 2002 Ladies Football Championship was launched with TG4 at Croke Park yesterday.

Some 160,000 viewers watched Mary Kirwan score a point on the buzzer to give Laois victory over Mayo in last year’s dramatic final, about one in four Irish TV viewers.

The final was TG4’s largest TV audience for the year, beating Celtic’s UEFA Cup tie with Valencia and the All Ireland Club finals.

Another 22,000 people watched the action live at Headquarters on the day, about twice the number of people who attend the domestic rugby and soccer showpieces.

Ladies Association member Helen O’Rourke said that the recent increase in awareness of the female game was a due reward.

“It’s only been the last four years that we’ve had this surge and that has been helped significantly by live TV coverage,’’ Ms O’Rourke said.

“We’ve always said that we have a great product and a great game if people watched it,’’ she said.

“It’s a faster type of game (than its male counterpart) because players can pick the ball up off the ground, and it’s probably a purer form of football in that there is no deliberate bodily contact and no shouldering.”

Aside from Laois and Mayo, this is certainly the most competitive year. The midlanders must stand up to Meath and Dublin in Leinster.

Roscommon’s junior All Ireland win last year elevated them to senior status in Connaught.

Ulster sees Monaghan and Tyrone to the fore, while in Munster, traditional kingpins Waterford will be wary of Kerry’s burgeoning reputation.

The All Ireland semi-finals and final will be screened live on TG4, with the four provincial deciders aired on highlight packages on the evenings following each of the ties.

The Leinster final gets the ball rolling on July 29.