Rebel ladies build for future with record sponsor deal

CORK have secured the largest sponsorship deal in the history of ladies football.

Castlelands Construction have penned a two-year agreement with the County Board with a figure believed to be in the region of €50,000 per annum. Ironically Cork have spent six months attempting to secure a sponsor following the withdrawal of Smart Telecom at the start of the season.

Cork have dominated ladies football over the past few years winning the senior All-Ireland and NFL titles in 2005 and 2006.Cork are also the All-Ireland champions at both minor and U14 level and narrowly lost out to Dublin in the last year’s U16 All-Ireland final.

Castlelands have played an active role in grassroots GAA in Mallow where they provided funding of €8 million in the development of state of the art facilities.

Tom O’Sullivan, Castlelands Construction, said: “We arefiercely proud of our strong roots within the community, particularly in Mallow but also throughout Cork and we are delighted to be getting involved with Cork Ladies Football.

“We have an unrivalled track-record in investment in local sporting, cultural and educational initiatives and our support of the Rebelettes is just another example of our belief in the importanceof re-investing in the local community”

Tom Luddy, Chairperson of the Cork Ladies Football Council said: “The investment made by Castlelands Construction in Ladies Football in Cork is a testament to the success of our county teams at all levels of the game and with the support of Castlelands we are much better placed to maintain that success by providing the very best for all our representative teams.”

Helen O’Rourke, chief executive of Cumann Peil Gael na mBán added: “Cork are one of our game’s leading counties and they have spearheaded the promotion of our sport through their success and skilful play over the last few years.

“The investment by Castlelands highlights the growing appeal of Ladies Football and will ensure that Cork remain a serious contender on all fronts for many years to come.”