League run leaves David Clifford in good shape for championship

Michael Bolton

On and off the pitch, it has been a busy time for Kerry's David Clifford.

The 2025 Footballer of the Year expanded his brand, as he entered an agreement with McKeever Sports to launch the Clifford Collection – a range of sportswear featuring training tops, hoodies, shorts, zip tops and socks all branded with a personalised logo based on his distinctive kicking style.

A first for a GAA player; it was a decision that was not taken easily by Clifford.

"McKeever came to me with the idea, I suppose it’s a good few years ago now, and I kind of put it off and put it off.

“And then they came to me again, and look, obviously you were taking a bit of a chance in the sense that how was it going to look? I suppose I’d be conscious of not wanting to appear, ‘who does this fella think he is?’ kind of stuff.

“But it was probably getting to the stage where it was being done anyway, and there were [unofficial] jerseys appearing that I had nothing to do with, if that makes sense.

“So this was probably just a way to kind of regulate that, and obviously the fact that it sold so well was probably a nice addition, that you were maybe justified in making the decision.”

In previous years, Clifford would have been slowly eased back to action during the league campaign.

However, he started six of Kerry's eight games, and came on in another, as Jack O'Connor's side were defeated in the Division One final by Donegal.

Having also scored 1-7 against Clare in last weekend's victory, the 27-year-old is not looking for minutes as we enter the crucial stage of the season.

“I suppose I was available, so I played. That’s the long and short of it, really. What was I going to say to Jack, ‘I need another break’. You can’t really do it every year.

“You have a good handle on things [after playing so many games]. You have more evidence to look back on and stuff.”

Up next for Kerry will be rivals Cork in the Munster final.

Clifford has only faced Cork in a Munster final once before, a comfortable 22-point win in 2021.

With Cork gaining promotion and showing consistency that has been missing through the years, this will be a lot closer, and a challenge he is looking forward to.

"While maybe Cork's results across the board when I started mightn't have been great, it would still always be fairly tight against Kerry.

"Obviously, Cork are heading back to Division 1 next year and everything. They're obviously coming, so it's going to be a huge test for us."

It is another year where the rules have made the headlines, particularly the hooter to end the first half and the game.

Last season, the game ended once the ball went out of play after the hooter.

Clifford's point in the All-Ireland final, ending the first half, came under the spotlight, as

"Yeah, it was kind of an under-the-radar tweak, really, kind of in the first game, you realised that this has been changed. It's similar, but I suppose it just starts….the last play might start a bit sooner.

"It might start in the 68th minute now as opposed to waiting until the 70th. I'd say there are similar teams that are trying to work it to have the last shot, that's it really.

"You probably can't take as much time, maybe to really set up a shot.

"You could see some scores that you'd never see because if there's 20 seconds on the clock, you kind of have to throw the boot at it.

"There could actually be a few great scores as the summer goes on. You can just imagine a buzzer-beater type score."