GAA agree €1m deal with sponsors

Hurling /All Stars' US Tour: As the All Star hurlers prepared to travel from Phoenix to Las Vegas today, the GAA and the All Stars sponsors, Vodafone, announced an extension of their agreement which will see over €1 million spent by the company on Gaelic games in 2004.

Vodafone have also announced they will sponsor the Clare hurling and football teams for the next two years, continuing a relationship that began in 2000. They will sponsor the senior, under-21 and minor football and hurling teams.

The president of the GAA, Seán Kelly, said he was delighted with the deal just concluded. "It is a considerable investment in the GAA and it is an important one because it honours the players."

Vodafone's director of communications Tara Delaney said the company wanted to make clear its commitment to promoting hurling and Gaelic football. "We took over the All Stars in 1997 and it has worked exceptionally well for us as a sponsorship," she said.

It is understood the sponsorship has been worth €8 million since 1997. The sponsorship will be reviewed on a year-to-year basis. This covers the annual banquet, annual tour, player of the month awards and associated advertising and marketing.

The annual exhibition game at the Scottsdale Community College produced the now traditional scoring extravaganza, the 2002 All Stars beat the 2003 selection by 11-20 to 13-10, the 24-foot wide goals aiding the forwards considerably.

While Waterford's Eoin Kelly proved to be the top scorer on the day with a total of 3-8, it was the two goalkeepers who were the most popular with the attendance of approximately 1,000. Davy Fitzgerald (Clare) and Brendan Cummins (Tipperary) produced some extraordinary saves, flying through the air on several occasions to keep the ball out of the net.

It was a good day for the Waterford contingent on tour. Kelly was top scorer and was closely followed by Paul Flynn, who scored 4-3. John Mullane scored 2-1, Ken McGrath 1-3 and Fergal Hartley also left the defence to contribute a point.

Goalkeeper Fitzgerald, who captained the winning team, is expecting a reaction when he returns home from the tour.

"When the lads hear I let 13 goals past me I will get some slagging," he moaned. "But when guys are relaxed and trying to put on a show that is what happens.

"The scoreline is not important. The people here, many of them having travelled across America for this game, were entertained and that is what it is about."

2002 SELECTION: D Fitzgerald (Clare); M Kavanagh (Kilkenny), P Larkin (Kilkenny), C Herron (Antrim), F Hartley (Waterford) 0-1, P Kelly (Tipperary), T Browne (Waterford), D Lyng (Kilkenny) 1-1, E Kelly (Waterford) 3-8, H Shefflin (Kilkenny) 2-2, K McGrath (Waterford) 1-3, E Kelly (Tipperary) 2-3, M Jordan (Wexford) 2-0. Subs: P Barry (Kilkenny), K Broderick (Galway) 0-2.

2003 SELECTION: B Cummins (Tipperary); D Ryan (Wexford), N Hickey (Kilkenny), O Canning (Galway); L Dunne (Wexford), JJ Delaney (Kilkenny), T Griffin (Clare) 0-2; T Walsh (Kilkenny) 2-0, J Mullane (Waterford) 2-1; J Hoyne (Kilkenny) 3-1, B Murphy (Offaly), P Flynn (Waterford) 4-3, E Brennan (Kilkenny) 2-1. Subs: C Cassidy (Offaly), B Dunne (Tipperary) 0-2.