Two Irish stars feature in an influential list of the world’s Top 50 most marketable sports stars over the next three years, published by Eurosport and Pro Sports magazine. The first of those is Rory McIlroy, listed as British, who comes in at number 3. The second is a surprise.
The criteria used to judge the marketability of stars is necessarily subjective but includes elements including age, the size of the market they directly appeal to, their charisma and willingness to be marketed, and their crossover appeal.
The second Irish star to feature on the list, two places below Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspur and squeezing in at number 50 is Katie Walsh, the jockey and rider of the favourite in this year’s Aintree Grand National.
The fact that race is televised to 600 million people and has never been won by a woman is the main basis for including the daughter of trainer and RTE pundit Ted Walsh. It is an astonishing achievement for a star that is better known even here in Ireland as her brother Ruby’s sister but it shows the scope that exists to hitch your star to a sporting property or personality that could yield global rewards.
Walsh is the first jockey to appear on the annual list, one of a record 14 women on this year’s and will ride work at home in Kildare this morning with more people in sport aware of her name than she might ever have imagined.
On Sport for Business over the coming days we will break down the list a little further, highlight the 14 women in advance of the Business of Women’s Sport Conference on June 20th and explore some of the relationships and how they have been built in partnership with business.
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