GAA’s boots initiative suffers blow as sportswear giant adidas no longer available

The GAA and GPA’s joint commercial venture gaelicboots.com has taken a major hit with adidas products no longer available on the website.

The biggest selling boot brand in Ireland, the absence of adidas from the online store is certain to have a huge negative effect on the initiative, launched earlier this year.

Of the five gaelicboots.com inter-county playing ambassadors, four cite adidas boots as their favoured footwear but links to the products now open pages on sportsdirect.com, which is the company of Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley who is the partner of the GAA and GPA in gaelicboots.com.

Adidas were unavailable to provide a spokesman for comment yesterday but suggestions are they have taken the action because of pressure from local retailers.

Local sports stores were up in arms about the website, which was offering boots at prices they couldn’t come close to competing with.

In March, shoe shop manager Donal Vaughan, who is expected to line out for Mayo in Sunday’s Connacht final, queried whether the deal had any genuine benefit to players, and highlighted the difficulty it posed to his business. “I was looking at their [adidas] World Cup boots, for example, and they’re selling at €80,” he said at the time. “I’d hardly be able to buy it for that!”

A month later, Dungarvan sport shop owner Ger Wyley wrote an open letter to GPA chief executive Dessie Farrell expressing concern the website might force local shops out of business.

Wyley stated he provides €2,000 per annum in sponsor to the Dungarvan juvenile club as well as patronage at at least 14 other local GAA clubs.