The Northern Ireland Football League has announced Sports Direct as the new title sponsor of both the Premiership and Women’s Premiership.
The three-year partnership is the biggest commercial deal in the history of the league and replaces the existing deal with Danske Bank. That contract has run for 11 years now and was believed to be worth in excess of £100,000 per year.
The sports retailer has 22 stores in Northern Ireland, with further investment planned for 2024 and Gerard Lawlor, NIFL Chief Executive said: “We are proud to announce this landmark partnership".
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“This is a huge step forward for the league as we grow commercially, and to bring a major brand like Sports Direct as a partner and sponsor is testament to the growth of our business in recent years and that they can see the ambition we have to keep pushing forward and want to be part of that journey.”
Leonard Brassel, Managing Director Sports Direct Ireland said, “This is an exciting time to be involved in football in Northern Ireland and we’re delighted to be partnering with NIFL to sponsor both Premiership leagues. NIFL is rich with history but also has so much to look forward to and we feel that it is the perfect fit for us.”
NIFL was founded in 2013 and currently represents the top-level football clubs in Northern Ireland, with over 350,000 fans in stadiums enjoying games each season in stadium and over 2.5 million tuning into games on TV through BBC Sport NI and Sky Sports.
First to kick off will be the new Sports Direct Women’s Premiership later this month in a huge season for female football under the NI Football League with the league expanded to a 10-team division.
The inaugural Sports Direct Premiership campaign for their male counterparts will commence in August.
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