McDonald’s has signed on as the official Junior Partner of the Brisbane Lions.

The three-year deal, which was announced today, sees McDonald’s become the official partner of Club junior activity – including the naming rights to Bernie’s Gabba Gang, junior clinics, junior membership programs, as well as the match-day junior mascot.

Lions forward, Dayne Zorko, was on hand for the announcement today, alongside teammate James Polkinghorne and young players from Brisbane Junior competitions.

“Growing the game at the junior grassroots level is so critical, especially in a non-traditional football state like Queensland – we need to get as many kids involved in footy as we can,” Zorko said.

“McDonald’s has always been a big supporter of community programs and we’re very excited to have them on board to help grow our junior programs.”

McDonald’s Mt Gravatt Licensee Mark Roberts said McDonald’s was delighted to become an official sponsor of the Brisbane Lions, which aligns with McDonald’s heritage and culture.

“We’ve been a big supporter of AFL Brisbane Juniors over the past four years and we’ve just signed on again as the official sponsor for another three years,” Mark said.

“The AFL Brisbane Juniors are the future stars of AFL and we hope the McDonald’s and Brisbane Lions partnership will encourage more children to take part in sport and lead active lifestyles.

“Our involvement with the Brisbane Lions continues our commitment of being a good neighbour in the community. It complements McDonald’s dedication to junior sporting programs and encouraging children of all abilities to be active and have fun.”

The Lions has almost 5,000 junior members in 2012, with a further 14,000 members of the Bernie’s Gabba Gang, and has a total junior reach of over 30,000 kids in Queensland alone.