Official launch of Cadbury's U21FC
March 12, 2007
Cadbury's promotion of the U21FC for 2007 was officially launched at Croke Park with details of a huge investment to highlight the skill and commitment evident in the competition
Cathal O'Connor, Marketing Manager Cadbury Ireland and Dermot Power, GAA Commercial and Marketing officially launched the 2007 Cadbury U21 Football Championship in Croke Park. They were joined by Mayo footballer Keith Higgins who was the Cadbury Hero of the Future 2006 and Kildare Footballer Dermot Earley who is one of the Cadbury Hero of the Future judges. The Cadbury Heroes of the Future is an initiative which began in 2006 to recognise and highlight the skill and commitment of U21 Footballers.
To expand on the idea of the Cadbury Hero of the Future Award scheme, a 'Hero of the Match' Award is presented to 15 players from the provincial semi-finals stage through to the finals. There will be an award presented at each provincial semi-final, each provincial final, the national semi-finals and at the national final. The 15 Heroes of the Match are then uploaded onto www.cadburygaau21.com and members of the public are encouraged to vote online for their 'Cadbury Hero of the Future'. The winners club and County also benefit from this Cadbury Award. Kildare footballer Dermot Earley and a TG4 presenter Michael O Domhnaill adjudicate the competition and determine who the overall winner will be, taking the public vote into consideration.
Dermot Earley commented: "The Cadbury Hero of the Future Awards scheme is a unique initiative that really gives the U21 players a sense of pride and gives them something else to strive for. I am delighted to be on board again this year to support this Awards scheme from Cadbury." The 2007 Cadbury Hero of the Future Award will be presented at an Awards ceremony on the 31st May.
This year, Cadbury have also revamped their dedicated U21 Football website, www.cadburygaau21.com to provide fans and media with up to date news and information. The new websites features podcasts with some of the players and the Hero of the Future judges, a blog section for all GAA and sports fans, imagery of the current Heroes of the Matches and a new media section with updated articles, images, fixtures and results. In addition to this, the Cadbury U21 Football Championship now has a dedicated page on www.hoganstand.com and links with www.anfearrua.com
Speaking before the launch of the 2007 Cadbury U21 Football season, Nickey Brennan, President of the GAA said, "The U21 championships are an integral part of the GAA Calendar and we are delighted that Cadbury's will once again be sponsoring the football competition this year. The competition offers a great opportunity for supporters to see the stars of the future in action for their counties and the involvement of Cadbury's has added greatly to the profile of the competition in recent years."
Commenting at the launch of the 2007 season, Cathal O'Connor, Marketing Manager, Cadbury Ireland said: "It's with great pride that we embark on our third year of this sponsorship. We were delighted to see the 2006 Cadbury Hero of the Future 2006, Keith Higgins go on the from the Cadbury U21 Football Final to represent his county in the senior All-Ireland final. We are delighted to have our new website up and running this year and we hope it will become a much used tool for the players and fans alike. We are really looking forward to another season of exciting games and we are working closely with the GAA to support this championship."
As part of Cadbury's commitment to developing and nurturing the skills of the U21 players and to help provide for the future of the sport Cadbury also sponsor sports scholarships in five colleges nationwide. In 2006, Cadbury scholarships were presented to Gerard Cafferkey and Mark Ronaldson in NUI Galway, Fintan Goold in University College Cork, Barry Moran and Carthach Keane in University of Limerick, Cathal O Dwyer and Cormac Brady in University College Dublin and Owen Coyle and Martin Stapleton in Trinity College. The Cadbury U21 Football Scholarships are presented to full time university students in recognition of their commitment to the sport, their high achievements to date and their potential. Christine O'Donovan, Acting Director of Physical Education and Sport in UCC commented: "We are delighted to be able to offer the Cadbury Football Scholarship to aspiring footballers in the University as it encourages current and future footballers to get involved in the sport."
Cadbury Ireland has engaged in a four year sponsorship of the U21 Football Championship. The sponsorship deal is worth €0.5million. Cadbury is actively supporting its sponsorship of the Championships through television, press and radio advertising and an integrated marketing and promotional programme both at national and regional level.
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