EIRCOM HAS agreed a €4 million deal with the GAA to replace its telecoms rival Vodafone as a sponsor of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship for the next three years.
This will make it one of the biggest sports sponsorship deals in Ireland.
It is understood details of the deal will be announced by the GAA and Eircom at a press conference at Croke Park on Monday.
Tyrone football manager Mickey Harte and Kerry captain and star forward Colm Cooper have been lined up for the sponsorship launch.
Eircom joins Ulster Bank and convenience retailer SuperValu as a football sponsor.
It will pay an estimated €1.3 million a year to the GAA for the deal, and will probably spend the same again activating the sponsorship through advertising and promotions.
Eircom is effectively switching codes, having ended its sponsorship of the Irish soccer team last year after a long run.
This is a major boost for the GAA given the difficult external economic climate.
It is understood Eircom was attracted to the deal by the GAA’s strong community roots around the country, and the company is likely to offer affinity deals to clubs and county boards.
The deal will provide some positive coverage for Eircom, which is currently negotiating a €92 million labour-savings plan with its employees.
This could involve more than 1,000 redundancies. the company has also warned that it could breach its financial covenants on its €3.8 billion debt, and it has begun talks with its bondholders on restructuring its finances.
Eircom has been hit hard in the recession, losing fixed-line customers and seeing its mobile phone subscribers pare back on spending.
No comment was available from the company.