Audrey Buckley, Marketing Manager Cadbury Ireland and Nickey Brennan, GAA President, officially launched the 2008 Cadbury U21 Football Championship in Croke Park.

They were joined by James Colgan, U21 Down player and Cadbury University scholarship recipient, Killian Young, Young Player of the Year from Kerry, Sean Cahalane, U21 Cork player and reigning champion and Michael O Domhnaill, TG4, Cadbury Hero of the Future judge.

After a year of uncertainty about the future of the Championship, the U21 players are ready to take to the pitch. Will Cork win an 11th title in 2008 or will their neighbouring rivals Kerry join them with 10 U21 Football Championships wins? The Cadbury U21 Football website, www.cadburygaau21.com has many additions for the upcoming season including a new ‘Tell Your Mates Section’ and voting polls on the Speak Out section. There will be more podcasts and competitions rolled out throughout the season also.

The 2008 season also sees an extension of the Cadbury University Scholarships. This year, the successful programme has been extended to the University of Ulster, Jordanstown and the inaugural recipient is James Colgan from Down. His honours include captaining Down to the All-Ireland Minor title in 2005 and winning a Down Senior League title with his club in 2007. In November and December, the Cadbury football scholarships were also presented to Eoin Cotter and Daithi O’ Se in UCC, Fiachra Lynch and Ronan Brady in UL, Alan Mc Andrew and Owen Coyle in TCD, Mark Ronaldson and Chris Barrett in NUI Galway and Cormac Brady and Cathal O’Dwyer in UCD. The Cadbury U21 Football Scholarships are presented to full time university students in recognition of their commitment to the sport, their high achievements to date and their potential.

Speaking at the launch, Nickey Brennan, GAA President, said: "We are delighted that Cadbury will once again be involved in the U21 Football championship this year. They have been terrific supporters of the competition for the past three years and their attractive and innovative promotional campaigns have added greatly to the competition. Many of the senior stars of the future, and indeed a healthy sprinkling of the stars of the present, will be in action for their counties in the coming weeks and months and I keenly await what should be an excellent competition in 2008."

The Cadbury Heroes of the Future is an initiative which began in 2006 to recognise and highlight the skill and commitment of U21 Footballers will also continue this season. A 'Hero of the Match' Award will be presented to 15 players from the provincial semi-finals stage through to the finals. There will be an award presented at each provincial semi-final, each provincial final, the national semi-finals and at the national final. The 15 Heroes of the Match will be uploaded onto www.cadburygaau21.com and members of the public are encouraged to vote online for their ‘Cadbury Hero of the Future’. The winners club and County also benefit from this Cadbury Award. Kildare footballer Dermot Earley and a TG4 presenter Michael O Domhnaill adjudicate the competition and determine who the overall winner will be, taking the public vote into consideration. Cork Senior and current Cadbury All Ireland U21 Football champion Fintan Goold was named as the Cadbury Hero of the Future 2007 last May. The 2008 Cadbury Hero of the Future Award will be presented at an Awards ceremony on the 29th May.

Commenting at the launch of the 2008 season, Audrey Buckley, Marketing Manager, Cadbury Ireland said: "We are delighted to be heading into our fourth year of the U21 Football Championship and are looking forward to lots more exciting action at the U21 level as the heroes of the future battle it out on the field. We are delighted with the Cadbury U21 revamped website and we hope it will be much used and enjoyed by players and fans alike."

Cadbury Ireland has engaged in a four year sponsorship of the U21 Football Championship. The sponsorship deal is worth €0.5million. Cadbury is actively supporting its sponsorship of the Championships through television, press and radio advertising and an integrated marketing and promotional programme both at national and regional level.

U21 Roll Call of Champions

Cork
1970, 1971, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1994, 2007

Kerry
1964, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998

Tyrone
1991, 1992, 2000, 2001

Mayo
1967, 1974, 1983, 2006

Galway
1972, 2002, 2005

Donegal
1982, 1987

Derry
1968, 1997

Roscommon
1978

Antrim
1969

Armagh
2004

Down
1979

Dublin
2003

Kildare
1965

Meath
1993

Offaly
1988

Westmeath
1999

FINTAN GOOLD, Cadbury Hero of the Future 2007

Fintan hails from Macroom, Co.Cork and is no stranger to success on the football field having already played in the U17 International Rules Series in 2003, the Munster Senior Championship in 2006 and in the Cadbury U21 Football Championship in 2005 and 2006. Fintan was a member of the Cork U21 team which was beaten in last year's Cadbury's All Ireland U21 Gaelic Football Final by Mayo. Fintan was the recipient of the Cadbury Football Scholarship in UCC for 2006/2007. This was the first year the Cadbury Football Scholarships were awarded in recognition of the sporting potential of U21 footballers attending various universities.