International Carding Scheme
2026 International Carding Scheme
The International Carding Scheme provides financial support to athletes for their training and competition programmes. The primary purpose of this funding is to support Irish athletes in reaching finals and achieving medals at European, World, Olympic and Paralympic level.
In 2026, Sport Ireland will invest €4.75 million in the International Carding scheme and Player Funding Scheme. This funding allocation will cover all elements of the Scheme, including 139 individually funded athletes, nine NGBs in receipt of pool/relay funding, the Athlete Career Transition (ACT) Programme, Player Funding Scheme, and reserves. Of the 139 athletes in receipt of individual funding, 64 (46%) are female and 75 (54%) are male. 29 Para athletes (21% of overall athletes) are supported through the scheme; this includes seven pilot/guide athletes from Para Athletics, Para Cycling and Para Triathlon.
Sport Ireland will provide funding on a one-year basis for 2026. Multi-annual funding will be reintroduced for 2027 and 2028, as per the approach taken during both the Tokyo and Paris Cycles. The Sport Ireland Institute provides world-leading services to Ireland’s high performance carded athletes. It should be noted that the Direct Athlete Support Investment table does not capture the value of performance support services which is provided by the Sport Ireland Institute.
Athlete Wellbeing & Welfare
Across 2025 and early 2026, Sport Ireland has undertaken a comprehensive review of its Athlete Welfare Policy. Informed by this process, Sport Ireland has developed a strengthened and more directive framework for athlete welfare. The new policy places a greater emphasis on clear standards, accountability, and oversight, ensuring that organisations within the high performance system are meeting defined expectations in safeguarding athletes. It provides enhanced assurances to Sport Ireland through more robust reporting, monitoring, and compliance mechanisms, reinforcing a system-wide commitment to athlete protection, wellbeing, and best practice.
The ACT Programme, introduced in 2022, is world–leading in terms of its financial and service offerings to carded athletes upon retirement. Athletes availing of the ACT Programme are guaranteed 50% of their current award from their point of exit from the International Carding Scheme for a specific time period. In an Olympic/ Paralympic year, an athlete will receive the remainder of their funding for the year and secure 50% of their funding for the following year. The ACT Programme provided support to 23 athletes in 2025.