World’s First Forest Dedicated to a Football Club in Partnership with Shelbourne
Shelbourne FC launches world’s first forest dedicated to a football club in expanded partnership with Cloudforests
Named Red Wood, the forest will grow every time Shels score in SSE Airtricity League Premier Division and Women’s National League with a new tree planted each time the Reds find the net
Fans can gift a tree to fellow supporters with proceeds being split between Shels and Cloudforests
Multi-year partnership will ensure Reds Go Green and see Shelbourne become Ireland’s most sustainable sports club
9 December, 2021
Shelbourne FC has today launched the world’s first forest dedicated to a football club – the Red Wood, as part of a significantly expanded partnership with Cloudforests.
The Red Wood will grow through 2022 and beyond with a tree being planted with every goal that Shelbourne’s Men’s and Women’s teams score next year.
This significant partnership means Shelbourne fans and players will directly impact the reduction of C02 emissions in Ireland helping it meet its Climate Action Goals. The Red Wood will be created using Native Irish Trees such as Oak, Rowan, Alder and Birch.
In 2021, Cloudforests sponsored the Shelbourne U17M team, then managed and coached by First Team Head Coach Damien Duff and Captain Luke Byrne to National League Shield success and this new announcement will feature several different elements as 2022 progresses.
As the Red Wood is being created, there will be opportunities for all Shelbourne Fans to come and watch the forest grow.
Progress of the growth of Red Wood will also be exhibited as part of a digital media campaign with Cloudforests and the forest can also be viewed 24/7 on a dedicated live stream via Cloudforests.ie.
Keith McDarby, Shelbourne FC Commercial Director, said: “We are really thrilled to grow our relationship with Bernard and Cloudforests into 2022. Bernard is a man with some really fresh ideas and we’re really lucky to be working with him next season. We have some great things planned with Cloudforests for next season to make the club more sustainable and we’ll be sharing these as the season goes on. This is a massive step for the club and something we’re all really excited about.”
Bernard Pender, CEO at Cloudforests, said: “Following on from our successful partnership with the U-17 academy squad last year, we are delighted to further build on this relationship with Shelbourne FC,through this announcement today. We are incredibly excited to further enhance our support of the under age set-ups while creating the first real climate action initiative in partnership with a sports club. We are delighted to be able to announce the creation of the Red Wood today. This will be a forest creation that will help the club and the planet. This partnership will assist Shelbourne in becoming a leader in sustainability and in becoming Ireland’s first truly sustainable Sports Club. Basically the Reds go Green today! Shels are our CoolPartner 020 – a big welcome to our community to everybody involved.”
