Wednesday 23 March 2011
Premiers Morningside have scored another coup on the eve of the brand new North East Australian Football League season by signing Tradelink as a major sponsor for 2011.
Highly successful on the field with the last two QAFL premierships, the Panthers are trying to match those feats off the ground in a tough economic environment for local sporting clubs.
Tradelink, the bathroom specialist for Australia’s leading brands of bathroom and plumbing supplies, have thrown their full support behind Panthers and the Western Magpies in the AFLQ Premier Division. Tradelink also sponsor AFLQ’s Graydon Poulson Award for outstanding support of youth football.
Morningside Club Development Manager Jack Barry said the major sponsorship was critical for the club.
“In tough financial times with the recent devastation around Queensland, community sport has also taken a hit with sponsorship down on recent years and understandably so with companies supporting the flood victims,” Barry said.
“So we are rapt to have a leading brand company such as Tradelink put back into community sport and in particular with the Morningside F.C.”
The Tradelink deal will see them represented at three levels of AFL competition with Morningside in the newly formatted North East Australian Football League, AFL Queensland Reserves and with the Western Magpies in the Pineapple Cup.
“At Tradelink they are committed to providing you with quality bathroom products and service to help you build the bathroom of your dreams. We share a similar core value proving quality training and coaching program for young Queensland players to follow their dreams in AFL” said Barry.
“In the last eight years we have seen nine Morningside players go onto AFL lists and local sponsors who invest in our programs are a huge part of that.”
The Panthers who are tipped to challenge strongly for this year’s title and are still hard at work looking for other major sponsor to head up there academy and also join Tradelink, Downtown Toyota and local glass supplier Inglass as leading sponsors..
With Morningside joining the NEAFL for the next two years Barry pointed out the importance of off field community support for the eight-time QAFL premiers
“Our club is united in our approach to deliver a blueprint for achieving sustained financial management but we will defiantly need the support of local and state business,” he said.
“We have a strong playing list built around local State talent but we have two years to get our financial program right so we can make an informed decision about our future.
“If we want to remain a strong participant in this competition we are going to need support like that of Tradelink and Downtown Toyota who have sponsored the Panthers for over 25 years”.
Morningside kick off their season against Northern Territory Thunder in Round 1 of the national Foxtel Cup at AAMI Stadium.
