GPA seal unique €500,000 deal with C&C

THERE was a buzz in Croke Park yesterday as the GPA and C&C announced details of their 10-year agreement.

The players' Association hopes it will herald a new phase in their development, with the deal projected to generate €500,000 for the GPA over the next three years.

GPA commercial director Donal O'Neill says the deal done with the drinks company, to promote their new energy drink Club Energiser, is unique in global sports, asserting as it does ownership of players' image rights. The partnership is also performance-related.

The GPA will get 6% revenue from every bottle of Club Energise sold. It is money the GPA hopes to put into the development of Gaelic games at grassroots level. "The more money Club Energise makes, the more money that goes directly into the games at grassroots level," chief executive Dessie Farrell said.

"With the revenue generated from this, we will be in a position to award funds to clubs for coaching-specific initiatives," Farrell said. "The money under the club grants scheme will not be going to clubhouses or anything like that, rather to coaching. And we will be establishing a sub-committee to assess club proposals in the next few months."

Farrell said special credence will be given to clubs in non-traditional hurling counties who have made particular efforts to revive the ancient games. "We will be looking at those clubs in those counties trying to promote hurling within their community."

Among the players at the launch yesterday were Jason Sherlock and Conal Kearney. Marketing of the drink is going to be unique in that it is going to be very localised. "This is going to be a localised endorsement, which means that Paul McGrane will be used to advertise the drink almost exclusively in Armagh, DJ in Kilkenny, etc," said Donal O'Neill.

The 10 players confirmed yesterday Peter Canavan, DJ Carey, Séamus Moynihan, Jason Sherlock, Conal Kearney, Muiris Gavin, Paul McGrane, Seán Óg de Paor, Tommy Dunne, Setanta Ó hAilpín will be joined by 11 other players in the coming weeks to market the new product. As this is a long-term partnership, the GPA hope, that with time, a broad spectrum of players from across the 32 counties can benefit from using their profile. O'Neill believes 200 players could be used on an individual basis over the course of this deal.

The initial billboard campaign is expected to last 6-8 weeks, for which each of the 10 players were paid €2,250.

Farrell saw no conflict with the announcement being made at Croke Park (the GAA were represented by information officer Fergal McGill as neither Seán Kelly or Liam Mulvihill could make it).

"We didn't want to create a story where there isn't one by announcing it here in Croke Park. This is the home of GAA players across the country and the home of the GAA, so we felt it right that a deal of this magnitude should be announced here. Croke Park are fully supportive of this deal," Farrell said.

Although the GPA head wouldn't be drawn on the current stand-off with the GAA over their insistence to set up a new player's group, Farrell did say that the GPA, with over 1,200 members, now believe they represent 80% of the inter-county players in the country. Farrell expects to meet Sean Kelly over the coming weeks to discuss further issues.

Club Energise was developed by leading sports physiologist Dr Liam Hennessy, and can, apparently, re-hydrate seven times faster than water.