Since 2016, Lidl has brought #SeriousSupport to the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and its members on a local and national level by investing over €5million. During this time, there has been a 73% increase in underage playing numbers and we have seen a shift in attitudes towards the game with support rising to an all-time high and multiple attendance records broken. And yet a significant gap still exists between ladies Gaelic footballers and their male counterparts at all levels of the game…
So it gave us great pleasure to sign a four-year contract extension in January 2022 that will take the partnership through to the conclusion of the 2025 season and mark a decade of #SeriousSupport, representing an investment of €10 million overall. As part of the new contract and our renewed effort to Level The Playing Field, we have committed to focusing on further progress in three main areas: (i) Investment (ii) Attendance (iii) Participation
We are delighted to announce the winners of this year’s Lidl Plus LGFA Rewards Scheme which saw €102,000 in cash funding and 230 sets of team jerseys being awarded to local LGFA clubs across the country. Dublin’s Castleknock, Donegal’s Bun Dobhráin, Galway’s Tuam Cortoon and Kerry’s Inbhear Scéine Gaels LGFA Clubs were awarded the top prize of €20,000 each for collecting the most stamp cards in their respective provinces. The innovative initiative has now seen more than 383 LGFA clubs benefit from new jerseys and up to €20,000 in funding since 2021 with more than €575,000 invested in local clubs altogether.
We are delighted that the LGFA-backed secondary schools athlete mentor programme has returned for the 2021-22 school year.
Delivered in conjunction with Youth Sport Trust and our team of specially trained inter-county footballers, we are committed to teaching junior cycle students about the long-term physical and mental health benefits of playing ladies’ Gaelic football and aim to reduce the numbers of 12-15 year olds dropping out as a result. Our athlete mentors will deliver the programme through classroom workshops and on-pitch training sessions in schools in every county. Added to that, each of the winning schools receives a brand new set of jerseys for their ladies’ football team to celebrate their participation.
We will be seeking nominations for the 2022-23 #SeriousSupport Schools Programme later in the year so please keep an eye out if you would like to nominate your local school.
Our Lidl ambassadors are involved in a number of related activities including the Lidl One Good Club programme which was developed in conjunction with the LGFA and our charity partner, Jigsaw - The National Centre for Youth Mental Health.
