The Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) yesterday announced details of their sponsorship agreement with Adidas who will provide the official Irish team gear for the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

This new contract, which encompasses the competition and casual sportswear for the entire Irish team, comes into operation immediately and will include the team set to compete at the European Youth Olympics in Esbjerg, Denmark, later this summer. It is worth £405,000 to the OCI, which will be dispensed over the 29 governing federations affiliated with the Olympic body.

The OCI President Pat Hickey welcomed Adidas Ireland back as the official team sponsor. This is the first Olympic contract between the parties since the 1988 Games in Seoul. "The sponsorship of gear is a big cost factor for any Olympic Council irrespective of success," he said. "It's very important that the Irish team looks well and Adidas have a long history of association with the Games. I'm delighted to know we will be very well equipped out in Sydney."

It was revealed that the contract was signed on the understanding that track and field athletes will wear the Adidas gear in competition at the Games. That, however, has been the on-going problem with the athletics governing body BLE, who have a separate contract with Asics and resulted in the gear fiasco at the Atlanta Games. It was also learned yesterday that BLE have responded immediately to the OCI letter on Wednesday that the two sides should meet for a discussion on which brand the athletes are entitled to wear in competition at Sydney. The BLE President, Nick Davis, has given full support to the request and the two associations are hoping to set up the first meeting within the next few weeks.

BLE's contract with Asics, which was signed at the end of 1994 and gave them the right to have athletes wear their gear in track competition, carries through to Sydney, but both sides are now confident that the controversial issue will be sorted out well in advance of the Games. "We're setting up this meeting with BLE for that very matter," said Hickey. "Both sides are going into it with no pre-conditions. There are other factors, such as how the International Athletic Federation will rule on the matter later this summer as well as the International Olympic Committee at their Congress, so we won't be making any statement on the issue until after that.

"I am always concerned about the image of Ireland abroad. A lot has happened since the controversy in Atlanta, including the contact with the Minister for Sport."

Hickey also explained that cost will not be a problem in sending athletes to Sydney, and all team members selected by their national federations will be sent. The OCI will also be in charge of two training camps in Australia prior to the Games and that the distance will not be a factor in accommodating the needs of the Irish team.