2013 was a year of great sporting achievement on the field and important development of the commercial side of sport off it. Globally the value of sport continued to climb in terms of sponsorship, ticket revenues and especially in broadcast rights. It was the year in which the ‘second screen’ became the first choice for content among those under 25 and when alcohol and sport came under a strong spotlight at home.
Sport for Business has covered it all over the past 12 months and before we look forward to 2014, we have gathered together the most popular stories which you our readers found most engaging and informative in 2013
January
It was the year of the Gathering and there can be little doubt of either it’s financial success for Ireland or indeed for the important role that sport played in bringing visitors in. It was not all about the big events as we discovered from the outset through the role it played at local level.
Sport for Business kicked off it’s programme of Round Table discussions by looking at the ways in which sport and charity work together and at how certain elements of the relationship could and should be improved on both sides.
February
The Irish Sponsorship Summit took place at Croke Park and gathered together a range of speakers from home and abroad to look at how sport and sponsorship had developed through the Olympic year of 2012. Electric Ireland reviewed it’s own relationship with the Irish team and we updated through the day as the nuggets of best practice and innovation kept coming. Check out our Members discount for the 2014 version at Croke Park on February 20th.
The February Sport for Business Round Table took to the stage of the Abbey Theatre, amid the setting for King Lear to discuss with leading lights such as Barney Whelan of An Post, Roddy Guiney of WHPR and Tom Walsh of European Rugby Cup how sport and culture can be positive partners but need to be better coordinated around major events.
March
Technology has been a recurring theme in the past year and will be again for the foreseeable future. It’s importance lies in how it helps players to prepare but also and most importantly from a commercial perspective how it enables sport to engage with fans as this story about Irish company Huggity first revealed.
It was a month of history for Irish Rugby as the Women’s team won our only third ever Grand Slam and secured a big funding boost as well on the road to the Olympics in Rio for the 7’s side of the game.
We took to the skies for the March Round Table discussion where we gathered a mixed group of Irish based and overseas members and guests for a look at how Sport plays such a vital role in maintaining links to the Irish abroad.
April
We had a bit of fun on April Fools Day with an exclusive story that Usain Bolt was to line out with Donegal in the Ulster Football Championship in 2013, even if only for ten minutes at the request of his Donegal born manager Ricky Simms. You weren’t fooled though, were you.
On a more serious note, the question of why sport was being singled out as a front line in the battle against alcohol abuse was to become a big story. As we leave 2013 the threat of removal of €30 million of funding has not gone away but we urged then, and do so again now, that if a ban is brought in that alternative funding must be found. Our suggestion which was well received was to look at the model of the Road Safety Authority for inspiration.
May
The mainstream media focus in May was all about the selection of the British and irish Lions for their tour to Australia. On the day the panel was announced the IRFU published it’s report into the future of Club Rugby. We were in no doubt where our priorities lay in terms of a story that delved a little deeper than the headlines.
We also brought news of the two Irish sports stars that made it into an influential list of the 50 global superstars likely to have the biggest success in the next three to four years. Rory McIlroy was an obvious one but could anyone have guessed that jockey Katie Walsh would be the other?
As part of our mission to bring sport and business closer together we hosted a packed business breakfast briefing with members Sigmar Recruitment at which we learnt first hand from Bernard Brogan, Reggie Corrigan and Richard Sadlier about the thin line that divides success in one field from the same in the other.
June
Our main focus in June was on delivering a high quality conference on the Business of Women’s Sport. Together with great speakers including Annette ní Dhathlaoí from Liberty Insurance, Simon McBeth from eFlow, Gemma Crowley from Women’s Rugby, Sue Ronan manager of the women’s national soccer team and Mary O’Connor from Camogie, we feel we did some good in highlighting the opportunities that lie within what is likely to be the single biggest growth area of sport in the coming years. We didn’t just talk about though. We also produced a set of 8 initiatives that are starting to come through.
In the business world the purchase of O2 Ireland’s operations by Three will pose a number of challenges for Irish sport as contracts begin to wind down. We highlighted six that ought to be of interest.
Join us again on Tuesday when we review the second half of what you as readers found of interest in the world of Sport for Business.
