Vodafone emerges from scrum as sponsor of the Irish rugby team

30 May 2016

Kickoff of the new Vodafone sponsorship of the Irish rugby team is on 1 June at the start of the summer tour to South Africa

Mobile and fixed-line operator Vodafone has signed a four-year deal with the IRFU to sponsor the Irish rugby team.

The new agreement will commence on 1 June, ahead of the summer tour to South Africa.

The new kit, emblazoned with the Vodafone logo, will be manufactured by Canterbury and is available to pre-order online.

As part of the sponsorship, Vodafone said it will use new and existing technology to create events and content specifically for rugby fans.

Match day signal boost

Vodafone_rugby_2

Ireland’s Keith Earls, Jamie Heaslip, Rory Best and Ultan Dillane with Philip Browne, IRFU CEO and Anne O’Leary, Vodafone CEO

It also said that it will boost its signals in areas where games are being played on match days to maximise the experience of mobile users attending the matches.

“Irish rugby has built something very special,” said Vodafone CEO Anne O’Leary.

“There is a bond there between the players, individually and as a group, and the supporters from the four corners of Ireland and beyond that epitomises the very essence of sport.

“Supporting the Irish rugby team brings the whole country together and this mirrors exactly what our business does in connecting people around Ireland and further afield.

“Our aim is to bring supporters even closer to Irish rugby and we have innovative plans to do this on match days and right throughout the season.

“We will have live mobile match highlights for Vodafone customers, exciting priority ticketing for the Guinness Series and a jersey amnesty initiative, to name just some of our plans,” O’Leary said.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com