The Sport for Business Women in Sport Conference, in partnership with Lidl, returns on Tuesday, December 1st, marking the 12th year of an event that has tracked, challenged, and celebrated the development of women’s sport in Ireland.
This year’s conference will take place at Lidl Ireland HQ in Tallaght, Dublin, with guests invited to arrive from 9:30 am for a 10:00 am start, with the scheduled finish at 13:30, followed by a light lunch on site.
The theme for 2026 will be From Progress to Permanence.
Across the past 14 years, the Women in Sport Conference has reflected a period of remarkable change in Irish sport from questions of visibility and participation to increasingly substantial conversations around investment, leadership, coaching, commercial value, media coverage and influence.
In December, we’ll focus on what comes next: how the momentum built over more than a decade can translate into lasting change across every part of the sporting landscape.
We will reveal the full programme gradually over the coming weeks, highlighting one element each week as we build towards December 1st.
Secure Early Bird Tickets below. This is one of our keynote events of the year and always reaches capacity.
Ten Years of Serious Support
The first conversation we can reveal will feature Lidl Ireland CEO Robert Ryan in a fireside chat with Rob Hartnett.
The discussion will look back at Lidl’s decision to support Ladies Gaelic Football and the journey that has followed over the past decade.
When Lidl Ireland began its partnership with the LGFA in 2016, women’s sport occupied a very different place in the Irish sporting and commercial landscape.
Ten years on, Ladies Gaelic Football has grown substantially in profile, participation, media coverage and commercial strength, while the Lidl partnership has become one of the most recognisable and sustained commitments to sport in Ireland.
The conversation with Ryan will explore the thinking behind that original decision, how the partnership has evolved, what Lidl has learned from investing consistently rather than episodically, and how the business views the partnership across many aspects of its operation.
Fourteen Years of Conversation and Change
Since the first Sport for Business Women in Sport Conference took place at UCD Business School in 2013, the landscape has shifted considerably.
The conversations have evolved alongside that change — from establishing why women’s sport deserved greater attention, through questions of representation, participation, and visibility, to increasingly sophisticated issues around leadership, commercial growth, professionalisation, and long-term sustainability.
The 2026 conference will draw on that 12-year journey while looking firmly ahead.
We will examine the state of women’s sport in Ireland, the pathway for women into senior coaching positions, the international development of women’s sport, leadership and influence, and the continued evolution of Ladies Gaelic Football.
There will also be a special Sport for Business element recognising three new entrants to our 2026 list of the 50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport.
We’ll announce further speakers and individual sessions each week between now and the conference.
What we can promise is a morning built around real conversations, practical experience and a determination to identify what needs to happen next.
These Early Bird Tickets will be available until Thursday, October 8th.
Lidl Ireland, Sky Ireland, Vodafone, AIB, Sports Direct, Sport Ireland and AIG are among the many organisations supporting Women in Sport initiatives that are full members of Sport for Business.
If you would like to be part of the Sport for Business community and see your organisation in our content, on our stages, and in the conversation happening every day around the commercial world of Irish Sport, email us today and let’s see what is possible.
Image Credit: Sport for Business
ABOUT SPORT FOR BUSINESS
Sport for Business is Ireland’s leading platform focused on the commercial, strategic and societal impact of sport. It connects decision-makers across governing bodies, clubs, brands, agencies, and public institutions through high-quality content, events, and insights.
Sport for Business explores how sport drives economic value, participation, inclusion and national identity, and how your story can be part of ours.
Through analysis, storytelling and convening the sector, it helps leaders understand trends, share best practices, and make better-informed decisions. It positions sport not just as entertainment but as a vital contributor to Ireland’s social and economic fabric.
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