The number of new reported sponsorship deals in Ireland doubled in the first half of 2021 versus the same period last year, according to new research from sponsorship consultants Onside.

Although live sport is returning only gradually, sport continues to dominate sponsorship activity, with 84pc of deals so far in 2021 occurring in that field.

Financial and professional services firms and food and drinks brands were most active, with new deals including global investment adviser Triton Lake’s new sponsorship of the IRFU Sevens teams and Red Bull’s new endorsement deal with Irish Hockey.

John Trainor, founder and CEO of Onside, said: “2021 opened positively with a string of high-profile major deals by the rebooted FAI with SSE Airtricity, Bank of Ireland, Weetabix and DHL, while a consistent stream of local and regional GAA sponsorships followed Cork GAA’s new seven figure deal with Sports Direct in January.”

Other deals of note included TikTok’s link up with the 2021 St Patrick’s Festival and the Transport for Ireland’s sponsorship of Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride.

Trainor said there was a growing alignment in businesses between sponsorship and corporate social responsibility. “Doing good is now a must rather than nice to do strategy,” he said.

“Six in 10 of the new deals across the sponsorship industry came in the second quarter, with a noticeable rise in community, cause related and broadcast sponsorships, including Circle K securing the rights to sponsor coverage of the upcoming Olympic Games on RTÉ,” said Trainor.

Stand-out partnerships in the last quarter included Electric Ireland’s relationship with Pieta House, and Aldi’s partnerships with Barnardo’s and FoodCloud.

Figures from the Onside quarterly report show Bank of Ireland has achieved most first half growth versus 2019 in the public’s vote for stand-out sponsors across both sport and non-sport platforms, while Guinness and Vodafone remained the favourite sport sponsors with the Irish public in the first half of 2021.

Trainor added there will be challenges for the industry “such as the failed European Super League and Ronaldo Coca-Cola tremors work their way into new deals shaping the next generation of sponsorship contracts.”

Shares in Coca-Cola, a sponsor of the Euros, took a hit after Portuguese soccer captain Cristiano Ronaldo removed Coke bottles from a table during a press conference last month, opting instead for water.

Trainor also said the Irish sponsorship market is taking on board international trends including the influence of NFTs as  new revenue channels for rights holders.