Monday 10^th September 2007 – Waterford based SmartPly, a subsidiary of Coillte, the forestry and forest products company, today announced that it is the new sole, official sponsor of the Amateur Football League for the 2007/08 season and beyond. The sponsorship will include naming rights for the AFL and a range of branding opportunities across the activities of the League.

This is the first time that SmartPly OSB has engaged in the sponsorship and has the option to renew at the end of 3 years. The amount of the sponsorship is not being disclosed.

The Amateur Football League (AFL) was founded in 1954 with 12 Clubs playing Saturday football, to provide football for people who were amateurs, playing in a competitive spirit.  Today, through the Oscar Traynor Coaching and Development Centre, situated in Coolock, Dublin 17 and its amalgamated North Dublin Schoolboy/girls League, the combined Leagues work with over 800 teams throughout the country. The membership ranges from the under sevens to over 35's.

Mr Paul Lenehan, Hon. Chairman and Mr. Noel Kennelly, Hon. Secretary of the Amateur Football League said, “We are delighted with SmartPly OSB’s support, which is vital to maintaining the vast network of clubs and teams with whom we work. We are heavily reliant on volunteers who commit so much of their time and expertise to running the league and SmartPly OSB’s sponsorship means that we can continue to reward the commitment and support of our members.”  

Neil Foot, Managing Director of SmartPly and Geoff Rhodes, Marketing and Business Development Director of Coillte Panel Products noted, “We are thrilled to be part of the Amateur Football League, which provides such a valuable service throughout the country.  The AFL is a vital resource not just for football, but also to communities across the country who benefit from its work.  Our parent company, Coillte is also in the business of developing a vital resource - Ireland’s carefully managed certified forests - to create products, such as SmartPly OSB, which are used not just here, but across the world.”

SmartPly OSB is Oriented Strand Board, made of three separate layers of wood strands mixed with resin, laid in different directions and compressed under heat to create super strong “OSB” boards. This process uses wood resources efficiently and SmartPly OSB can be used inside or out for anything from house building to the hoarding around building sites. The manufacturing takes place at the SmartPly plant in Waterford which employs approx 170 people.

SmartPly is part of Coillte Panel Products (CPP), a division of Coillte, which also includes Medite, the manufacturer of Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF), based in Clonmel.

ENDS.

 
Contacts:              

SmartPly        Neil Foot                               Tel:  051 851 233

AFL                 Noel Kennelly                       Tel:  087 242 9406

For more information:           www.amateurfootballleague.com
                                               www.smartply.com  www.coillte.com

Notes to editors:

About Coillte

Coillte is the State owned company operating in forestry, land based businesses and added-value processing operations. The company, which today employs 1,300 people, was established in 1988 and owns over 445,000 hectares of land, approximately 7% of the land cover in Ireland.  Coillte has 3 operating divisions – Coillte Forest, Coillte Enterprise and Coillte Panel Products - reflecting the key areas of strategic focus of the Group.