Boots Ireland has announced a three-year sponsorship with the FAI as a partner of the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team.
The announcement comes as awareness and participation in women’s football have increased significantly, and with the Irish women’s football team competing in the UEFA Women’s Championship qualifiers which kicks off this September.
Independent research from Boots Ireland showed that 71% of us believe that people should attend women’s sporting events to show their support, and a further 76% of those surveyed believe female sports stars should be equally celebrated as their male counterparts.
However, only 7% of the population of Ireland has ever attended a live women’s sporting event.
Raising The Profile
The sponsorship is part of a wider partnership between Boots UK and Ireland and the national women’s teams of the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.
As part of the partnership, Boots will work to highlight the role models within the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team, ‘who will be inspiring the next generation of female footballers and sportswomen’.
“Through our partnership with the FAI we are excited to announce our support of the Republic of Ireland Women’s Football Team,” Bernadette Lavery, Managing Director of Boots Ireland, said.
“It’s wonderful to see such positive and growing support for women’s football in Ireland and we look forward to utilising our platforms, including our stores, our website, as well as our social media channels, to raise the profile of the women’s team.
Growing Support
Republic of Ireland Captain and Arsenal midfielder Katie McCabe was at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin to announce the sponsorship, which aims to help boost confidence in girls and women.
“As a team, we have a big couple of months ahead, with qualifying for the European Championships starting next month,” McCabe said.
“It was great to see the women’s game get the exposure it deserves during the Women’s World Cup, and campaigns like this between Boots Ireland and the FAI will only help to grow support of women’s football.”
FAI General Manager, Noel Mooney, praised Boots for supporting Irish football and investing in our Women's International teams.
“Women's football continues to grow in every area - participation, performance and commercially,” he added.
“The FAI is delighted to partner with Boots to grow Women's football in Ireland and we believe the Women's national team will go from strength-to-strength.”
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
