Derry City announce Diamond Corrugated sign new sponsorship deal

The Chairman was joined by club CEO Sean Barrett, manager Ruaidhri Higgins and his assistant Alan Reynolds at the top table, were they discussed the Brandywell club's.

Mr O’Doherty opened the meeting by announcing that main sponsor Paul Diamond (Diamond Corrugated) has signed a new three year deal to continue as the club’s shirt sponsor.

He described that as “fantastic news for Derry City given that Paul has been an outstanding supporter of the club over many years.”

The Chairman also confirmed that four new members have joined the Board of Directors - Paddy Simpson (Jnr), Niall Diamond, Hugh Harkin and Peter Wallace.

Much of the early discussion centred around the club’s ongoing efforts to eradicate poor behaviour among a small number of supporters.

Mr O’Doherty confirmed that a number of people have already been handed very lengthy bans from Derry City games on the basis of CCTV evidence. He pointed to the statement released on Thursday announcing Pulse Security as the new company responsible for match night safety on behalf of the club.

He said that it was an absolute priority that supporters would be allowed to attend games in a safe and secure environment.

There was also a positive update on plans for the new Academy facility on the Northland Road. The Chairman said that while these were still at the discussion and planning stage, clear progress had been made.

Mr O’Doherty also encouraged supporters to help lobby for the next phase of development to the Mark Farren stand within the stadium.

Handing the microphone to manager Higgins, Philip admitted the Limavady man was someone he “had been after for some time.”

The management duo gave an update on the playing front and said they were delighted by the start to the new season.

The boss did sound a note of caution however and said that “there will be bumps in the road over the course of a long season. That is when we will need our supporters to really dig in and back the players to get us through those phases.”

He referred to the backing his team had received from the Chairman and the Board, noting that Cameron McJannet on Wednesday became the ninth member of the current playing squad to be signed to at least the end of the 2024 season.

Finally, the club announced that they are already planning for demand for Europa Conference League tickets this season. They confirmed that current Season Ticket holders would have a window to buy their Conference League ticket before they went on general sale and with no standing permitted at European games, that demand is expected to be very high.