In the lead-up to the Swans round 8 home match against Melbourne, which will celebrate the Club’s 30 years in Sydney, sydneyswans.com.au is collating the 30 Defining Moments of the Swans in Sydney in chronological order.
The 30 Defining Moments have been selected by Sydney Swans Chairman, Richard Colless, Deputy Chairman, Andrew McMaster, and Swans Hall of Fame inductee and former Club captain, coach, and director, Rick Quade.
#5 - QBE becomes major sponsor, 1987
At the time the Swans may have been prospering on the field, but financial issues were never too far from the surface off it.
In the midst of ownership changes between Dr Geoffrey Edelsten, publicly listed company Powerplay, and ultimately the VFL, the Swans were at one of their lowest points and on the brink of folding due to not having a major sponsor.
One phone call from the then CEO of QBE Insurance, John Cloney, results in QBE becoming the new major sponsors of the Sydney Swans in one of the most significant steps in the club’s history.
The partnership provides the club with a welcome injection of funds, and the 1988 season sees QBE on the front of the Swans jumper for the first time.
There would be more hardship for the club in the immediate years to follow, yet the one constant throughout is the backing of QBE, and the partnership grew even further as the Swans fortunes turn around on the field.
In 1996, 2005 and 2006, the Swans took to the biggest stage in the game, the AFL Grand Final, with QBE proudly emblazoned on the front - and in 1996, the back - of the famous red and white jumper.
While there had been changes at QBE with Frank O’Halloran succeeding Cloney as CEO in 1998, the commitment to the Swans remained unwavering, highlighted by QBE’s decision to support the establishment of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy in 2010.
2011 was a landmark year as QBE and the Sydney Swans celebrated the 25th anniversary of their partnership, with the Swans wearing a special guernsey to mark the occasion in the round four loss to Carlton.
In the lead up to the match, a five-year extension of the partnership was announced meaning QBE will remain on the Swans jumper until at least 2016 and take the association between the two iconic parties to 30 years.
“As a coach we appreciate the history of the club, and value the future of the club. The announcement is a great fillip for the footy club and gives us great confidence going forward. The players are really proud of their relationship with QBE,” Swans coach John Longmire said about the five-year extension.
The night following the Carlton game, the QBE partnership was one of five inaugural items included on the Swans Heritage List at the second Sydney Swans Hall of Fame event.
“There is no equivalent relationship that has ever existed between any major sponsor and an Australian sporting team,” Swans Chairman Richard Colless said when making the announcement.
“While highly commercial, (QBE’s relationship with the Sydney Swans) is more akin to a long-term partnership than a sponsorship agreement.”
In February this year, O’Halloran announced that he would be retiring after 35 fruitful years with QBE. Naturally, the Swans Chairman was one of the first to lead with a tribute for Frank.
“When all the documentation and process is stripped away, it's about people - their integrity and their vision. Frank was fundamental to this remarkable relationship that transcends the commercial and is almost a spiritual association,” Colless said.
