Sport for Business

Let us know what’s on your mind We mark a landmark day as the Sport Ireland Campus breaks ground on a €100 million national velodrome and a new badminton centre, blending high-performance ambitions with real community access. Ministers set firm expectations on budgets and delivery while the CEOs of the two sports outline how a home base will transform pathways, participation, and pre‑LA 2028 prepa...

Let us know what’s on your mind We explore how the newly titled Laya Arena aims to blend sport, culture and community in the heart of Dublin, and what a true home ground means to players and fans.  Rebecca Trevor outlines the brand vision, Barry Murphy bridges rugby and music, and Linda Djougang explains how crowd energy becomes performance. • Decade-long path to Leia Arena naming • Modular venue...

Let us know what’s on your mind The headline reads like a simple renewal, but the story goes much deeper: Aviva is staying on Ireland’s biggest stage, and we unpack why that matters for fans, partners, and the future of Irish sport. We sit down inside the stadium with the FAI’s Head of Commercial, Sean Kavanagh, and Aviva’s Head of Sponsorship, External Communications and Sustainability, Brian O’N...

Let us know what’s on your mind We break down the 1-0 win over Armenia, the shifting maths in Group F, and the scenarios that could still send Ireland to a playoff and beyond. We also map Northern Ireland’s cleaner path through Bratislava and scan the wider sport landscape from social impact to sponsorship. Please do visit us at the website or sign up, subscribe, comment, and share wherever you ge...

Let us know what’s on your mind What happens when a swimmer refuses to settle and a mentor refuses to mail it in? We bring together Olympian Darragh Greene and business leader Pádraic O’Kane to explore how elite performance really works—on the stopwatch, on the balance sheet, and over a career.  Dara traces his path from a sport‑mad Longford upbringing, through a broken leg that sent him back to t...

Let us know what’s on your mind We examine Shane Ryan’s move toward the Enhanced Games and the strong backlash from Irish sport, exploring what this means for fairness, health, and the future of clean competition. We weigh the promise of transparency against the risks, legal hurdles, and the meaning of sport itself. • Ryan’s announcement and Las Vegas timeline • Immediate condemnations from Sport...

Let us know what’s on your mind We break down Ireland’s 9% shot at a World Cup playoff using a simple, transparent model, and celebrate five Champions of the Weekend across football, swimming, rugby, and Gaelic games.  I hope you enjoy all of the content that we see on sportforbusiness.com and look forward to having you back here again on the Sport for Business Daily tomorrow Find out more about w...

Let us know what’s on your mind Two Munster stories show how smart sponsorships shape jerseys, stadiums, and community impact. We dig into Tipperary’s Clover rebrand with Fiserv, Waterford’s Azzurri Walsh Park deal with Azzurri, and what naming rights mean for fans, facilities, and funding. • Tipperary renews with Fiserv under Clover brand on county jerseys • Performance-linked elements and suppor...

Let us know what’s on your mind Sony acquires a majority stake in StatSports, bringing wearables into a broader stack that already includes Hawkeye and Beyond Sports to build a hybrid tracking future. We also highlight Ireland’s growing sports tech ecosystem, preview Analytics Summit 2025, and scan today’s key headlines. • StatSports’ journey from Newry startup to global leader in wearables • Sony...

Let us know what’s on your mind We break down Budget 2026 for Irish sport and what it means for national bodies, players, clubs and facilities. We share the numbers, the politics behind them, and where the real gains can land over the next 18 months. • €10.8m uplift for Sport Ireland and legacy programmes • Core funding increases for GAA and IRFU • Targeted support for inter‑county players • Growt...

Let us know what’s on your mind A new boat, a fresh medal, and a partnership built on trust, this conversation dives straight into how Fintan McCarthy and Philip Doyle are reinventing Irish rowing momentum on the road to LA.  We pull back the curtain on their whirlwind post-Paris year: Philip navigating shifts in the emergency department before rediscovering his competitive fire, Fintan shifting f...

Let us know what’s on your mind What if public funding for major sporting events isn’t a gamble at all, but one of the smartest economic levers a country can pull?  The core question remains the same: when do headline costs translate into visitor spending, tax receipts, jobs, global visibility, and a lasting legacy for participation? We unpack why critics conflate two separate debates—event underw...

Let us know what’s on your mind A week can crown a champion or cut one down. We follow Jim Gavin’s leap from the certainty of silverware to the volatility of a national presidential race, exploring why mastery in sport doesn’t automatically translate to survival in politics—and what that means for anyone tempted to cross the line from the sideline to the ballot box.  Find out more about what we do...

Let us know what’s on your mind What if the kit an athlete wears truly began with the athlete? We pull back the curtain on a partnership built around performance, comfort, and identity—then show how a Craigavon factory turned that ideal into everyday practice for Team Ireland on the road to Brisbane 2032. We trace the journey from a founder’s small home office in 2004 to a thriving operation produ...

Let us know what’s on your mind European nights can change a season—and a balance sheet. We break down how Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers step into the UEFA Europa Conference League with around €3.8m already secured and a clear path to push total earnings past €5m with a couple of smart results.  Beyond the headline story, we shine a light on the local heartbeat of Irish sport: multinationals back...

Let us know what’s on your mind We trace Stephen Smith’s journey from analyst at Leinster Rugby to founding Kitman Labs and building league-wide systems that put evidence at the heart of athlete welfare and performance.  Along the way, we talk friction with tradition, mentorship, scaling globally, and why leagues now see themselves as talent businesses. • moving from gut feel to objective decision...

Let us know what’s on your mind The Aer Lingus College Football Classic stands as a remarkable testament to sport's power in building bridges between nations. In this revealing conversation with Padraic O'Kane and John Anthony, the visionaries behind this extraordinary event, we discover how a college football game has transformed into a cultural and economic phenomenon that strengthens...

Let us know what’s on your mind The gaming revolution is reshaping entertainment, competition, and global business, and G2 Esports CEO Alban Dechelotte is at the forefront of this transformation.  With gaming now engaging 3.2 billion players worldwide, this episode offers a fascinating glimpse into an industry that has grown from niche entertainment to global phenomenon. Dechelotte shares remarkab...

Let us know what’s on your mind What does it take to transform a sporting organisation and earn recognition as National Governing Body of the Year? Enda Lynch shares the journey of Badminton Ireland's growth and success since taking the CEO position two years ago. From his background in sponsorship at O2 and leadership roles at Munster Rugby, Lynch brings a wealth of insights about building h...

Let us know what’s on your mind Kevin White's remarkable journey from accidental high school coach to the upper echelons of American collegiate athletic administration unfolds with warmth and wisdom in this captivating conversation. Recorded at Fire Restaurant in Dublin, White reflects on how family circumstances unexpectedly launched him and his wife Jane into coaching careers that would ult...

Let us know what’s on your mind The economic powerhouse of Irish golf takes centre stage in this bonus podcast episode with the leaders behind a groundbreaking new economic impact study.  What does a sport contribute when it delivers €717 million annually to the economy, supports 15,600 jobs, and returns seventeen times more to government coffers than it receives? Professor Simon Shibli from Sheff...

Let us know what’s on your mind The digital revolution sweeping through sports broadcasting has long been central to thinking and planning for the future in the GAA. As the Football and Hurling championships reach their climax, the way fans experience these games has undergone a dramatic transformation through GAA+, the streaming service, which brings more matches to more screens than ever before....

Let us know what’s on your mind The sporting pitch has long been a battleground for social progress, and few fronts have been more challenging than the inclusion of LGBTQI+ individuals. In this thoughtful conversation, Jim McIlroy of Bohemian FC's Gay Bohs offers a candid look at what genuine inclusion means in Irish football today. Founded in 2016 after Bohemian FC publicly supported marriag...

Let us know what’s on your mind When Aidan Walsh stepped away from swimming and water polo as a young man, he didn't see anyone who represented him in sport. The locker room culture, casual homophobic language dismissed as "banter," and complete absence of visible LGBTQI+ role models created an environment where he couldn't bring his full self to the activities he loved. Fast f...

Let us know what’s on your mind Keith Shorten invites us inside the commercial engine room of Ulster Rugby, revealing how his unlikely path from KPMG accountant to global entertainment executive with AEG perfectly prepared him for the challenges of provincial rugby.  The Head of Commercial shares candid insights about arriving at Ulster during a perfect storm of change - the conclusion of their lo...