‘THE PANDEMIC WAS A GAME CHANGER. HOW DOES THE SPORTS SECTOR PLAY THE GAME NOW?’

  • Raelene Castle, CEO of Sport New Zealand will deliver the international keynote address to the Federation of Irish Sport members at their upcoming online member CEO Forum.
  • Celebrating 20 years in 2022, the Federation of Irish Sport will also feature a panel of experts from the UK & Ireland to discuss the important economic value of Sport in Ireland.
  • Other special guest speakers to be announced.

Raelene Castle, CEO of Sport New Zealand

The Federation of Irish Sport are delighted to host Raelene Castle, CEO of Sport New Zealand as part of the upcoming member CEO Forum to be held on March 1st. Prior to joining Sport New Zealand in 2020, Raelene spent seven years working in Australia as Chief Executive of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and then Chief Executive of Rugby Australia. She was previously Chief Executive of Netball New Zealand from 2007 to 2013. She has held several governance roles in sport, previously serving as a board director of the ANZ Championship Netball, International Federations of Netball Associations, SANZAAR Rugby and the World Rugby Council. Raelene was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2015 for services to Business and Sport.

Speaking about the upcoming online member CEO Forum, Federation CEO Mary O’Connor said, ‘We are delighted to host Raelene Castle as part of our online member CEO forum. We are looking forward to hearing Raelene’s insights on:

  • State of the nation New Zealand and Covid19
  • Health and GDP – background and research
  • Sport NZ’s Towards 2032 Strategic Direction document & Strategic Plans for the period 2020-24
  • The Living Standards Framework, a whole of Government view focused on inter-generational outcomes

Hosted by broadcaster Gráinne McElwain, the 2022 member CEO Forum, ‘The Pandemic was Game Changer. How does the Sports Sector Play the Game Now?’  is exclusively for member CEO’s, LSP co-ordinators and member Chairpersons and invited guests. There will be expert insights on the national importance of sport and physical activity.

Details of special guest speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Member CEO Forum 20th Anniversary

Federation of Irish Sport Background

Established in 2002 by the National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs), the Federation of Irish Sport currently represents over 110 NGBs and LSPs, consisting of over 13,500 sports clubs nationwide. As the Voice of Irish Sport, our role is to speak on behalf of our members and represent their views to the public, while also providing them with a range of services.

Over the last 20 years as the membership has steadily grown, the Federation has seen it’s role evolve along with the importance of sport and physical activity in society. New services to members have included the provision of Garda Vetting services, creation of the Sports Disputes Solutions Ireland (SDSI), annual Pre-Budget Submissions, regular Oireachtas Committee representation, support of the 20X20 campaign, representation on the National Sports Policy Leadership Group and the newly created Board Recruitment Service for members.

The Federation continues to communicate the benefits of sport in areas such as personal health/wellbeing, the economy and society as a whole and champion the work of the 450,000 people who volunteer for sport and physical activity in Ireland on a weekly basis that has a value of €1.5 billion to the exchequer.