Workforce Strategy 2026–2030
Sport in Ireland has always been powered by people.
From the volunteers, officials and coaches who give their time in local clubs, to the administrators, development officers and leaders who guide organisations at every level, it is people who sustain, shape and strengthen our sporting system. Their dedication enables participation in local communities, supports athletes to succeed on the world stage, and ensures that sport continues to enrich lives throughout the country.
Over the past two decades, the professional sporting workforce in Ireland has grown in scale and sophistication. Increased investment, heightened governance expectations, stronger inclusion ambitions and rising performance standards have reshaped how sport is organised and delivered. With that progress comes opportunity along with a clear responsibility to ensure our workforce is equipped for the future.
Powering Sport: Supporting Professional Workforce Development in Irish Sport (2026–2030) represents Ireland’s first sector-focused workforce strategy for sport. It sets out an ambitious and practical roadmap to strengthen the foundations of our professional workforce, recognising both the scale of contribution already being made and the complexity of the environment in which sport now operates.
This strategy responds directly to the realities facing the sector: a highly competitive labour market, increasing governance and compliance demands, the need for structured career pathways, the importance of workforce diversity, and the expectation that sport organisations operate as modern, professional employers.
At its core, this strategy is about sustainability and excellence. It is about ensuring that sport in Ireland is supported by a workforce that is skilled, diverse, valued and future ready. It seeks to:
- Enable strategic workforce planning
- Strengthen recruitment, retention and recognition
- Build clear professional pathways and a structured continuous professional development system
- Advance diversity and inclusive leadership
- Expand Ireland’s international contribution in sport
Importantly, this strategy does not stand alone. It aligns closely with the National Sports Policy 2018–2027, the Sports Action Plan 2024–2027, and Sport Ireland’s wider work across governance, women in sport, disability, diversity and inclusion, coaching and high performance.
Delivery will require commitment, collaboration and sustained investment. It will also require continued partnership; respecting the autonomy and diversity of funded bodies while providing the leadership and support needed to build collective strength.
This strategy represents our commitment to doing exactly that.