In Ireland there are approximately 12,000[1] grassroots sports clubs with over 1.7 million members, and it is a segment that is constantly growing due to being historically under-resourced and yet increasing numbers getting involved.
- The 68 National Governing Bodies of Sport
- 32 Local Sports Partnerships
- In Ireland there are 1.7 million that actively participate in Sport
- 270,000 adults volunteer in sport each week
- 83% of primary school students who engage in sport outside school
- 64% of post primary pupils who participate in sport outside school.
- Irish Sports Council distributes €50M of government funding to Irish Sports annually (Irish sport being worth annually, as an industry, in excess of €1.8BN or 1.4% of GDP).
- The economic value of sports volunteers is estimated to be between €322M and €583M p.a.
- 270,000 people participate in some form of sport-related voluntary activity making sport the most important form of voluntary activity in Ireland.
- 112,056 people took part in 744 sports development programmes delivered by Local Sports Partnerships nationwide (LSPs are Local Authority administered and government funded sport education schemes).
