3's the magic number for Waterford

Despite the harsh economic climate that has gripped Ireland over the past couple of years, Waterford United have managed to once again secure 3 Ireland as their primary sponsor for the 2011 season

At 3’s Grafton Street store in Dublin on Tuesday, Blues manager Stephen Henderson was on hand, with models Nadia Forda and Sara Kavanagh, to announce the news and simultaneously launch the new 2011 Waterford United jersey.

A club spokesman expressed their happiness with the sponsorship deal. “The Blues are delighted with the vote of confidence in the club by 3 Ireland. It’s great to have a major international brand as a primary sponsor. The club have worked hard to secure sponsorship in the tough economic environment.”

3 are also primary sponsors of the Football Association of Ireland, and recently confirmed their commitment to grassroots football in Ireland by launching a €10 million fund for grassroots football, which offers FAI affiliated clubs the chance of earning cash when their members switch to 3 – the more people that switch to 3 the more money the club earns.

Waterford also confirmed that in a recent shirt sponsorship draw for a sponsor to be included on the shirt sleeve, they received 20 companies applications, an increase of 10 on last year. The winner of the draw was Fitzpatrick’s Manor Lodge Restaurant.