With volunteer sporting organisations set to benefit from increased funding across the country, Limerick clubs have reacted positively to the announcement of the new round of the Community Sports Facilities Fund.
Marc Kiely, Chairman of Corbally United welcomed the increased funding, but said that he would like to see grassroots football receive more support. Kiely said, “there are forty (soccer) clubs in Limerick; off the top of my head, only three of them have astro-turf pitches”.
Emily O’Regan, of Shannon RFC, said that the funding will go a long way to improving floodlights and noted the benefit of the women’s-only dressing rooms recently installed at the club.
Jamie Moynihan, of Killarney Legion GAA, added that the increased funding will go a long way towards a new gym planned for the club, with construction already underway on the project.
The CSFF supports sports clubs and communities to develop sports infrastructure around the country, providing funding for sports facilities and non-personal sports equipment. All voluntary, not-for-profit sports clubs, community groups, national governing bodies (NGBs) and local authorities are eligible. Schools, third-level colleges, diocesan trusts and education and training boards can apply in conjunction with associated sports clubs.
The 2026 round comes with the announcement of a new grant management scheme, SPRAOI, which went live on Monday, 28th of September, with 8,000 clubs and organizations that were registered on the previous grant system automatically transferred to the new system.
Key details of the 2026 round include:
An increase of €50,000 to the maximum grant for Local projects, rising from €200,000 to €250,000. A €50,000 increase will also be applied to Regional Tier One (formerly “Regional projects”), with the maximum grant increased from €500,000 to €550,000. A new Regional Tier Two was also announced, for larger, multi-sport projects, with a maximum grant level of €750,000 targeted at Local Authorities and Governing Bodies. The minimum lease term has also been reduced from fifteen to ten years, removing the mandatory requirement to have a registered lease. New SPRAOI grant management system, simplifying the administrative process to allow more clubs to qualify for the fund.
On Friday, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Sport and Postal Policy, Charlie McConalogue TD announced the key dates for the 2026 round of the Community Sports Facilities Fund (CSFF).