02 extends Ireland rugby sponsorship

O2 HAS SIGNED the biggest jersey sponsorship deal in Irish sport, reportedly paying between €12m and €14m for the right to badge the Irish rugby union team for four years through the 2015 World Cup until 2016.

The sponsorship will see the O2 logo feature on all of the Ireland senior international and representative teams’ playing and training kits, as well as on a wide range of team-related IRFU merchandise.

O2 kicked off its support of Irish rugby in 2002 when the company became the official mobile telecommunications partner of the IRFU in a deal worth €1m per annum. In 2006, 02 expanded its partnership to become the primary sponsor of the Ireland national team in a six-year deal to the end of the 2011/2012 season worth around €3m per annum.

This primary sponsorship inspired the award-winning activation campaign "Be the Difference" which won the European Sponsorship Association’s Business to Consumer sponsorship award for 2010.

In Ireland, O2 also sponsors Shannon RFC and has additional partnerships with leading Irish players Brian O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell and Jonathan Sexton who act as brand ambassadors.

Current IRFU Sponsors, Partners and Suppliers