BOHEMIANS HAVE ANNOUNCED a new innovative sponsorship deal for 2014.
Online casino Mr Green has agreed to become the main sponsor of the Airtricity League Premier Division club this season and today unveiled their new home and away kits which feature the company’s logo.
As well as their traditional red and black number, Bohs will wear a green away strip inspired by the new deal while there are also a number of initiatives included in the partnership.
An interesting move will see each member of Owen Heary’s squad issued with green football boots ahead of the new campaign to promote the Mr Green brand.
The company’s country manager Gavin Flood told TheScore.ie today: “The players themselves would be buying their own boots and it can be an expensive outlay for them.
“There are so many boots selections out there so what we have tried to do is look at a number of options and get a collective agreement from the players. It’s a big investment but we’re more than happy to pay for their boots for the season.
“I think it will work on both sides.”
There will be a selection of several brands and each player will receive two pairs of their choice.
As an upgrade on traditional hoarding at Dalymount Park, Mr Green, which was launched in Sweden in 2008 and entered the Irish market last October, will customise the player and referee dugouts and have also promised some “stand-out” elements in relation to the floodlights at the famous Phibsborough ground.
Both parties are well aware of the dangers associated with gambling and addiction, and for that reason the logo will not appear on the club’s schoolboy and underage jerseys.
“There’s an ethos in the company called Green Gaming, which promotes responsibility along with entertainment, fun and being in a safe environment,” says Flood. “They are all very important to us.
“Like other sectors, whether it be alcohol or tobacco, there is an 18+ age base and we absolutely respect that. While there is no law in place about having our sponsorship on schoolboy jerseys, we’ve taken the decision to leave them off.
“Our logo will only appear on the first team’s home and away jerseys and we will give the space to the Bohemian Foundation, which is a charitable organisation being established by the club this season to help local communities.
“We’re supporting that by giving the space and we’re looking at initiatives to help the community.
Bohs are an institution, not only in Dublin but throughout the country, and we want to make sure that club maintains its tradition as being one of the most established and respected in the country.”
League of Ireland fans will quickly notice that the new branding is coincidentally the same colour of their biggest rivals, Shamrock Rovers, but Flood doesn’t see it as being an issue.
“It’s not something that has come up. We are hugely respectful of the club and its traditions and we would never want to do anything that would compromise that. It wasn’t an issue in any way shape or form.
“I’m sure when the fans see what we as a brand are trying to do to help their club develop, they will embrace it.”
Manager Owen Heary has also welcomed the deal, saying: I think it’s brilliant. Mr Green has come in and didn’t just say they wanted their name on the jersey.
“They bought the players boots and for a young player who can’t go out and spend €150, to get two pairs is a big thing for them.
“We sat down and discussed a few things and they’re willing to get behind it.
“In this day and age, any sort of sponsor is good but the one we’ve got has brought us to a new level and it’s something that we’re looking forward to the partnership.”
