Paddy Power urges Irish to get behind England in Save Our Game initiative
Operator to donate €10,000 to Irish football funding every time Gareth Southgate’s team find the net at Euro 2020
Paddy Power has promised to donate €10,000 (£8,600) to Irish football for every goal scored by England at Euro 2020.
The donation will be doubled to €20,000 if either Jack Grealish or Declan Rice score for the Three Lions in a pledge known as the ‘backstabber’ bonus.
West Ham United midfielder Rice previously made three appearances for Ireland before he switched allegiances to England while Aston Villa star Grealish represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level.
Paddy Power has guaranteed to donate a minimum of €100,000 to Irish football as part of the campaign.
The Dublin-headquartered bookmaker has recruited Irish pundit Eamon Dunphy and former Irish international Damien Delaney to serve as the principal faces of the #SaveOurGame campaign.
As part of the tongue-in-cheek campaign, Dunphy and Delaney teamed up to unveil a huge England flag, big enough to cover Big Ben, at the Carlisle Ground belonging to Irish football club Bray Wanderers.
Dunphy will also oversee the distribution process for all funds donated throughout the tournament.
“You have to admit, there’s a bittersweet irony to the prospect of a Southgate squad featuring Jack Grealish and Declan Rice being responsible for improving the state of Irish football,” Dunphy said.
Delaney added: “We all know about the need to ensure funding finds its way into the right hands in this country.
“The only approach we hadn’t considered was drop-kicking bags of cash over the gates of rural clubs until Paddy Power called.
“The #SaveOurGame campaign could mean a senior club gets their leaky roof fixed because Harry Kane found the back of the net. “But I think it goes without saying that we hope England score loads and lose in a penalty shoot-out in the final,” Delaney added.
The campaign follows a long tradition of Paddy Power mischief-based marketing campaigns during major sporting events.
In Euro 2012 for example, the bookmaker paid Danish footballer Nicklas Bendtner to reveal a pair of Paddy Power-themed underpants after scoring a goal.
During the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the brand donated £10,000 to the Attitude Foundation for every goal scored by the Russian national team to fight against the country’s anti-gay policies.
Picture credit: Paddy Power