Record €33m in core funding announced for sporting bodies

Sport Ireland has announced a record allocation of €33.36 million in core funding for the 57 National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and the 29 Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) for 2026.

It represents an overall increase of €1.2 million on the 2025 amount and an 87.4 per cent increase on the €17.8 million investment in 2018, when the National Sports Policy was first published.

Of the total amount, €19.5 million has been allocated to the NGB’s, with €12.66 million going to the 29 LSPs, a 5.9 per cent increase on last year.

The top-20 supported NGB’s remain unchanged from 2025, with Special Olympics Ireland again topping the list (€1,732,000), ahead of Athletics Ireland (€1,333,000) and Swim Ireland (€1,275,000).

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An additional €1.2 million has been allocated to other sporting bodies; Age & Opportunity Ireland, Active Disability Ireland, Ireland Active, the Federation of Irish Sport, and Student Sport Ireland.

The NGB core funding is separate to the high-performance allocations and the athlete international carding scheme, which will be announced next month.

The three main field sport NGB’s – the GAA, the FAI and the IRFU – are funded individually under a separate package.

This year will also mark the first year of Sport Ireland’s three-year multiannual funding model, designed to support development via improved planning, workforce stability and more strategic use of resources within sports organisations.

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan said the investment “represents a steadfast commitment by the Government to strengthening the foundations of Irish sport”.

He added: “We are continuing to scale investment in participation programmes, particularly those supporting women and girls, reinforcing our commitment to further narrowing the gender participation gap in sport, and in time, to eliminate it completely.”

Sport Ireland CEO Dr Úna May said the investment decisions “looks at the full impact of each sport – its national significance, the strength and ambition of its programmes, and the quality of its governance and operations”.

She added: “We place a strong emphasis on participation, membership, volunteerism and the social value sport brings to communities across the country. Above all, we are committed to ensuring a vibrant and diverse sporting landscape, so that people of all ages and backgrounds have access to a wide range of sporting opportunities.”

In line with Action 1 of the National Sports Policy Sports Action Plan 2024-2027, from 2026 onwards, the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport and Sport Ireland will seek to roll out a multiannual approach to core investment allocations, with 2026 acting as a baseline for the following three years.

Building on previous years, Sport Ireland will also continue to prioritise capacity building within volunteer-led NGBs, enabling them to align with broader Government objectives and transition towards more professional structures.

In addition to core funding, Sport Ireland will allocate €390,000 in targeted strategic investment as part of a pilot initiative in 2026. This funding will support organisational development and workforce capacity in selected NGBs with strong growth potential. These include Boxing Ireland, Rowing Ireland, Basketball Ireland, Mountaineering Ireland, Weightlifting Ireland, Irish Judo Association, Volleyball Ireland, Irish Surfing Association, Snooker & Billiards Ireland, and Orienteering Ireland.