by Plain of the Herbs » Sun May 07, 2017 12:00 am
Don't agree.
Heel of the hunt, this is about having intercounty squads from U14 Development to Senior who are striving to be the best that they can be. We can't complain about our intercounty squads not being looked after (complaints about meals, gear arriving too late in the year, all that kind of stuff) due to inadequate funding and in the next breath complain about new avenues of fundraising not being explored.
A few years ago, I got the accounts for the Offaly and Leix county boards for 2013 to do a comparison. I picked Leix due to having a similar population, similar demographic and hurling / football split. I had intended doing a commentary o that breakdown but never got around to that. The first thing that jumped out at me is that Leix' sponsorship income exceeded Offaly's by around €45k. In adition, Leix had income from a Dog Night, a Golf Classic that Offaly just don't have. Consequently, Leix were in a position to spend some €150k under the heading of 'county team admin' a big head start when it comes to helping your teams be the best that they can be.
Up to about five years ago, Offaly teams were a more attractive team regarding shirt sponsorship. The hurlers were likely to be seen on live TV (RTE) at least once a year, while there is a good chance the footballers would be too. The board stuck with Carrolls throughout when income could have been maximised if they cast their net wider. Those days are gone and Offaly are no longer a desirable TV attraction.
And if an Offaly based business, perhaps a significant employer in the county, who employs some county players, wants to buy advertising which wil promote their business and their product, and is willing to pay for naming rights to the county ground, then I'm all for it. With OCP set to host three Leinster championship games in the next six weeks (Offaly v Westmeath and Laois v KIldare in football; Galway v Dublin in hurling), some of which will be live on television, then they need to get this moving straight away. And now Tullamore club are in no hurry. You will recall just two months ago the Tullamore club were making an issue about not being paid their annual rent. It's a two fingered salute from O'Brien Park.
It's not about the county selling their soul, or selling something tangible that won't be seen again. They are selling advertising.
We blame the Board when there are feck ups, and there have been too many, but they should be given credit here for bringing another major sponsor on board.
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.