Proud sponsors for 30 years

When the winning captain and coach of Saturday’s Horsham District football grand final are presented with the premiership cup, they will have more than just a trophy in their hands – they will have 30 years of history.

Horsham business Forty Winks has been the naming rights sponsor of the league’s most important piece of silverware for three decades, starting in 1990.

Not only that, but the business has been owned and operated by the Hayes family for that entire span, giving the league an incredible longstanding connection to one family.

It is something District league board member Fred Mellington believes could be ‘unparalleled in Australia’.

“To have one family sponsoring the premiership cup for 30 years is incredible,” he said.

“Maybe to have one business doing it has happened, but one family? I’d like to know someone who does it better.

“The league is incredibly grateful for their support over three decades.”

Forty Winks Horsham’s Peter Hayes said his connection with the league stretched back to his father Bob, who was a player and interleague coach.

When the cup’s previous sponsor pulled out unexpectedly, Mr Hayes said his family jumped at the opportunity. “It sounded like a good idea at the time and we just kept doing it,” he said.

“I think businesses have a commitment to supporting local groups and sporting clubs.

“If businesses support clubs and they support us, we can all help each other.”

Mr Hayes said he thoroughly enjoyed presenting the cup and had loved witnessing everything from underdog triumphs to Kalkee’s five flags in a row in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

He thanked his wife Di and Forty Winks staff members for their hard work and dedication.