Yoplait Ireland announced as new sponsors of LGFA’s Third-Level Competitions

Yoplait Ireland announced as new sponsors of LGFA’s Third-Level Competitions

• Yoplait Ireland also installed as ‘Official Yogurt of the LGFA’

THE Ladies Gaelic Football Association is pleased to announce that Yoplait Ireland are the new and exclusive sponsors of the Higher Education Committee (HEC) third-level championships.

As part of this sponsorship deal, Yoplait Ireland are also confirmed as ‘Official Yogurt of the LGFA’, with leading colleges and inter-county stars on hand at Croke Park to mark the launch of the new partnership.

Yoplait Ireland will now sponsor the flagship third-level Colleges competition, the O’Connor Cup, which will now be known as the Yoplait O’Connor Cup.

Yoplait Ireland will also assume title rights of the HEC’s Giles, Lynch, Moynihan, Donaghy, Lagan and HEC Cups.

This news is a major boost to third-level Ladies Gaelic Football, as Dublin City University prepares to host the concluding stages of the various Championships in March.

It has also been confirmed that the Yoplait Donaghy, Lagan and HEC Cup Finals will be played on Tuesday, March 8, to coincide with International Women’s Day.

The Championships will return for the first time since 2019, with the 2020 and 2021 competitions not played due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Yoplait Moynihan Cup Final will be played on Friday March 11 at DCU, with the Yoplait O’Connor Cup, Giles Cup and Lynch Cup semi-finals pencilled in for the same day.

On Saturday, March 12, the Yoplait O’Connor Cup, Giles Cup and Lynch Cup winners will be confirmed.

To celebrate this announcement, representatives from Yoplait Ireland, the LGFA and the Ladies HEC were joined at Croke Park by Cork’s TG4 All Star Erika O’Shea (from Yoplait O’Connor Cup holders University of Limerick), Dublin midfielder Jennifer Dunne (DCU), Fermanagh’s ace attacker Eimear Smyth (UCD) and Galway defender Hannah Noone (NUI Galway), who claimed a currentaccount.ie All-Ireland Senior Club Championship medal with her club, Kilkerrin-Clonberne, last Saturday.

Speaking on behalf of Yoplait Ireland, Brand Manager Deirdre Lowry said “We feel honoured to become the main sponsor of the LGFA’s Higher Education Cup Competitions for many reasons.

“Generations of Irish athletes have grown up on Yoplait during the last 50 years and we remain an everyday favourite in sports bags, lunch boxes and at kitchen tables around the country.

“We are now witnessing a rising tide in the acknowledgement and celebration of Women in Sport in Ireland.

“The LGFA Third-Level Players and their unerring commitment to simultaneous study, work, life and sport are the embodiment of our belief that we will succeed if we always believe in the very best of ourselves, our many communities and of life itself.”

Ladies Gaelic Football Association President Mícheál Naughton said: “We are delighted to welcome Yoplait on board as sponsors of our third-level Championships, and as official Yogurt of the LGFA.

“Following an absence of two years, we are really looking forward to the our HEC Championships in March, with the League competitions played before Christmas serving to whet the appetite for what lies in store.

“Dublin City University will serve as brilliant hosts for the concluding stages of our competitions, and it is wonderful to be in a position to play three of the Finals on International Women’s Day.

“Best wishes to Yoplait as they begin their journey with us, and we look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

Ladies Higher Education Committee chairperson, Daniel Caldwell, said: “As HEC Chairperson, I am delighted to welcome Yoplait on board as sponsor of our Championships.

“We are excited about the opportunity that this sponsorship offers us to support and further develop our game in Colleges and Universities across the island.

“We have a growing number of teams and players registered with the HEC and sponsorship plays a key role in supporting and promoting athletes across our competitions.

“With games beginning on February 1 across seven competitions, we have an opportunity to see players from different counties and clubs set aside rivalries and play together in their college colours. It is that unique aspect of competition at College/University level that adds to the intensity and excitement of the Yoplait HEC championships.”

All seven HEC Championships get underway this week, with 2019 O’Connor Cup winners and holders University of Limerick playing UCD on Thursday February 3.

Also in the Yoplait O’Connor Cup this week, Queens University Belfast meet UCC on Wednesday, with NUI Galway up against DCU Dóchas Éireann on Thursday.

The DCU Dóchas Éireann-NUIG tie will be streamed live on the LGFA Facebook Page http://bit.ly/2OvUJ2D and the DCU YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YII-eWZ-cAs

A full list of fixtures can be found on the Ladies Gaelic Football Association website: https://ladiesgaelic.ie/

About the Yoplait O’Connor Cup:

The Yoplait O’Connor Cup is the Ladies Gaelic Football Association’s Higher Education Colleges flagship competition.

Approximately 58 teams are involved in the seven Yoplait HEC Championships, namely the Yoplait O’Connor, Giles, Lynch, Moynihan, Donaghy, Lagan and HEC Cups.

32 colleges are represented, with approximately 2,400 players taking part. The Finals will be held at DCU on March 8/11/12, 2022.

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