US National Football League fans have option to wear GAA-inspired jerseys

Some fans at this weekend’s historic US National Football League (NFL) Minnesota Vikings-Pittsburgh Steelers clash in Croke Park could be wearing “GAA-inspired” jerseys in either team’s colours.

Made by Belfast firm Beir Bua, the merger of both codes’ sportswear is the brainchild of Fanatics, the multinational sports merchandising giant that is the NFL’s official retail partner.

The business is opening temporary stores this weekend in Stephen’s Green, where you can buy products from all 32 teams, at the Central Bank complex on Dame Street and Croke Park itself.

Dublin man Stephen Dowling is playing a central role in this. He runs Fanatics’ multibillion-dollar businesses outside the US.

“We wanted to see what an NFL top would look like if it was reimagined as a GAA jersey,” he says.

The tops carry their respective team’s insignia and the date of the game.

Mr Dowling calculates that this weekend will be the biggest ever in this country in terms of sports merchandising.

While he did not put a figure on it, he believes that revenues should run into millions.

It will contribute to the €64 million that State tourism agency Fáilte Ireland believes the event will generate over the weekend as around 30,000 fans descend on Dublin.

The Government has spent more than €9 million on hosting the game.

Fanatics’ founder and chief executive Michael Rubin based the business on the idea that sports organisations needed expertise to manage the rapidly growing demand for merchandise, memorabilia and other products on which fans spend their money.

“We believe sports clubs should excel at being sports clubs, we provide the retail expertise,” said Mr Dowling, whose full title is president Global Fanatics.

Fanatics earned $8 billion (€6.8 billion) revenue last year. The business has four divisions: products and merchandise, collectibles, sports betting in the US, where it is the third biggest player after Irish-owned FanDuel, and live events.

Ireland is already the fourth biggest European market for NFL online sales.

This has been a big year for Fanatics generally in this country, along with this weekend it was the retail partner for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush and the British and Irish Lions game against Argentina in Dublin in June.

Later this year, it will be the official retailer for the All Blacks-Ireland rugby international at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Since Mr Dowling joined Fanatics 15 months ago, the firm has taken on the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews, Scotland, World Rugby, the All Blacks, Italian Serie A sides Inter Milan and Juventus, and Leeds United and Sunderland FC.

The company has 30 shops across Europe, including the FA store at Wembley, Paris Saint Germain shop and the Open Store at St Andrews.

From Kilnamanagh, Mr Dowling is a graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology from where he went to work for Unilever. An interest in sports drew him to Adidas in Germany, and when Fanatics “came calling”, he jumped at the opportunity.

Along with sports merchandising, this is a also big weekend for him, he says, bringing together the “trifecta of home, family and career”.