By Fionn Teague
Yesterday SuperValu announced their renewal of their sponsorship of the All Ireland Football Championship for another five years.
They have noticed real progress made by GAA clubs all across Ireland as their research reveals GAA clubs have never felt more inclusive.
This years research reveals that:
80 percent of GAA members say their club welcomes people of all backgrounds
78 percent feel they can bring their whole selves to their GAA club
75 percent believes their club provides equal opportunities for all regardless of ethnicity, gender ability, sexual orientation or socio economic background
Ally and advocate support within the GAA is seen as important by over 70 percent of the public
This represents the highest levels recorded since SuperValu launched the campaign in 2020.
The campaign is not only helping promote inclusion and diversity in GAA clubs as almost two thirds of the public believe diversity in their local GAA club will improve diversity within the wider community.
Supervalu has also announced a five year extension to their partnership with the GAA making them the longest standing sponsor of the GAA All Ireland senior Football championship.
To celebrate this milestone SuperValu are giving clubs across Ireland the chance to win cash for their club and a training session with All Star and All Ireland winner David Clifford.
Many big names in GAA have gathered together to show their support for inclusion and diversity in the GAA. such as David Clifford , All Star Cilllian McDaid , Cork footballer Hannagh Looney, Armagh’s Jemar Hall and many more.
Speaking at the launch, Managing Director Luke Halon said – ”At SuperValu we incredibly proud to extend our sponsorship of All Ireland Football Championship for another five years – a commitment that reflects our deep rooted belief in the power of community.
“GAA clubs are the heartbeats of towns and villages across Ireland , built on passion pride community and spirit,”
He later went on to say ” This partnership goes beyond sport, its about celebrating the shared values that unite us continuing to support the people and communities that make Ireland great.”
Halon closed his speech by saying: ” The research highlights significant positive change over that time and we are proud not just of the progress but of the players referees volunteers allies our partners in GAA and the wider GAA community who are opening doors and extending the hand of friendship to welcome people of different backgrounds into their clubs and communities.”
Supervalu has launched a competition to find Ireland most ‘ ‘welcoming GAA club”.
Clubs are being encouraged to share stories about how their club brings communities from different backgrounds together with four 1000 euro prizes and a training session with David Clifford and a nutrition workshop with renowned performance nutritionist Daniel Davey.
The competition is open for entries from April 30.
To find out more about the competition you can visit Supervalu’s social media pages