More that £1 million will be poured into Irish rugby by Allied Irish Banks in the course of the next season with clubs at all levels reaping the benefits. Ireland's top club at the end of the next All-Ireland League season will earn £60,000 from the bank's sponsorship.
All other clubs will benefit to a lesser degree.
Allied Irish Banks will grant funds totalling £965,000 to 49 clubs throughout the country automatically with an additional distribution of £121,000 in prize money and a further contribution to defray expenses for teams playing away from home. The entire sponsorship will mean that more than £1.3 million will be available to Irish rugby in the coming season.
Each of the 14 clubs in the First Division will get £30,000. In Division Two the 14 competing clubs will receive £20,000 each, in Division Three all 11 clubs will get £15,000 and the 10 Division Four clubs will get £10,000 each in addition to whatever these clubs gain from being successful in their various divisions.
The package was described as "handsome" by the president of the IRFU, Niall Brophy, when he made the official announcement in Dublin yesterday. He also said that the grants were conditional on clubs allocating a proportion to projects such as the improvement of player and playing facilities and the development of youth sections within clubs.
The leading team at the end of the opening series of AIL matches in Division One will get £15,000, the second team £10,000, the third £7,500 and the fourth £5,000.
In the play-offs the winners will receive £15,000, the second team £10,000 and the beaten semifinalists £6,000 each.
In Division Two the winners will receive £12,000 the runners up £8,000, the third team £4,000 and the fourth team £2,000. The Division Three winners will get £8,000 and the runners up £6,000 while in Division Four the leading team will receive £6,000 and the second team £3,000.
The normal funding towards travel and accommodation expenses for away matches in the AIL (which amounted to £300,000 last season), will again be met.
Speaking at the announcement of the sponsorship Brophy said: "We are delighted to be in a position to announce such a handsome financial package for the AIB League clubs for next season. The Union is in a position to fund these initiatives as a consequence of the participation by the provinces in the European Cup, sponsorships and TV revenues and they will be distributed towards the development of the game in Ireland.
Brophy also confirmed that the former Irish and Cork Constitution captain, Donal Lenihan, was joining the Irish team manager Pat Whelan and the coach, Brian Ashton on the senior management team.
The new date for the match between Ireland and Canada at Lansdowne Road is Sunday, November 30th with a kick-off at 1.45 at the behest of live television coverage.
Brophy underlined the determination of the IRFU to forge a more open relationship between the controlling body of the game in Ireland and journalists who normally cover the game. "We are going through a difficult period in our development and we want to be available at all times so that developments can be conveyed to the rugby public in a clear manner so that everybody knows what is going on and that the game can be promoted in every way possible," he said.
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