SPORT IRELAND WILL invest a further €4 million in Women in Sport programmes by the end of next year — an increase of 33% on current funding levels.
The government body unveiled details of its 2021/22 funding commitment on Thursday morning, pledging an increase from the €3 million promised in 2019/20.
The funds are targeted at projects run by national governing bodies to improve female representation in the areas of coaching and officiating, active participation, leadership and governance, and visibility.
The funding will be shared across 45 national governing bodies, with the Irish Rugby Football Association set to receive the biggest grant of €230,000 over the two-year period.
Five NGBs — Athletics Ireland, Swim Ireland, Gymnastics Ireland, Hockey Ireland and Tennis Ireland — will receive €150,000 or more, while a further seven associations will receive €100,000 or more.
Minister of State Jack Chambers said that, despite the impact of the pandemic, the previous funding round helped to increase in the number of females serving on NGB boards from 24% in 2019 to 29% in 2020.
“There is still a long way to go to improving these figures but the funding announced today will go towards promoting more involvement in sport and physical activity at all levels, from the pitch to the boardroom,” Chambers said.
Former Ireland rugby international Nora Stapleton, who was appointed in 2019 as Sport Ireland’s Women in Sport lead, added: “2020 was a difficult year and like all areas across the sector, many Women in Sport programmes and events were curtailed or had to be redesigned.
“Many programmes will continue in to 2021 and the NGBs have submitted applications for many new, innovative and exciting projects for the next cycle and I look forward to working with them.”
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