The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the body which oversees Ireland’s native sports of hurling and football, has named Ericsson as its official technology partner.
This deal sees Ericsson advising the GAA on ICT-related issues and trying to optimize mobile connectivity at the GAA’s iconic Croke Park stadium, which is located in the capital, Dublin.
The partnership also means that Ericsson will sponsor Croke Park’s “Skyline” tourist experience, whereby fans which can walk around the roof of the stadium in Dublin. Croke Park is the biggest stadium in Ireland, and the third largest in Europe with a capacity of 82,300 seats. Currently Gaelic football remains the most attended sporting event in the country.
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The traditional sports of Ireland date back to 1670, where the first football game was recorded and it is still a completely amateur sport. In terms of technology used in-game, it currently employs “Hawk-Eye,” a ball-tracking system. Its Point Detection System enables on-the-day officials to correctly award points scored during games.
In football there are 15 players from each team and a ball which is smaller than a soccer ball is used. Unlike soccer, players can kick and also handle the ball. Meanwhile in hurling, teams have the same number of players, however they use a stick, known as a hurley to strike a ball, referred to as a sliotar, which is size of a cricket ball.
In both codes players aim to either score a goal, which is worth three points or put the ball or sliotar over the bar for one point. It has long been noted that hurling is the oldest and fastest field sport in the world. Both the yearly hurling and football championships are currently being played, with the finals in both codes due to be played at Croke Park in September of this year.
Aogán Ó Fearghail, President of the GAA, says: “With Ericsson’s expertise, Croke Park will become a stadium of the future and a leader of sports technology.”
John Griffin, Head of Ericsson Ireland, says: “Croke Park holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Irish people everywhere and in the year when we celebrate 60 years of Ericsson’s presence in Ireland we are delighted to partner with the GAA and show our commitment to the Irish society.”
The two codes are not confined just to Ireland, with a number of expatriate clubs around the world — including in New York and London — that compete in the championship. Dublin has won the football championship for the last two years in a row, while Kilkenny won the hurling championship last year.