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href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/">Rugby</a></li></ul><h1 class="article-title "><span>Ireland's women's rugby team won't be profitable 'any time soon' say union chiefs </span></h1><div class=teaser>The IRFU increased investment into women’s rugby to a total spend of €8.3 million, according to annual accounts. </div><picture><source media="(min-width: 840px)" srcset="/cms_media/module_img/8802/4401035_7_articlelarge_2597728-32_MT2_5767.jpg"><img src="/cms_media/module_img/8802/4401035_7_articlemedium_2597728-32_MT2_5767.jpg" title="Ireland's women's rugby team won't be profitable 'any time soon' say union chiefs " alt="Ireland's women's rugby team won't be profitable 'any time soon' say union chiefs " data-src="/cms_media/module_img/8802/4401035_7_articlemedium_2597728-32_MT2_5767.jpg" fetchpriority=high> <figcaption class=imgFCap><p>Thelma O’Driscoll, IRFU Chief Financial Officer. Pic: INPHO/Morgan Treacy</p></figcaption></picture></figure></div><div class="byline date-byline">Fri, 29 Nov, 2024 - 01:00</div><div class=author-byline><div class="byline">Simon Lewis</div></div><div class=generic-text><div class="ctx_content"><div class=share-buttons-mobile><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41526515.html" class=share-popup id=share-f aria-label="Share on Facebook" target=popup><i class="fa fa-facebook-f"></i></a> <a href="https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=Irish Examiner - https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41526515.html" id=share-w aria-label="Share on WhatsApp" data-action=share/whatsapp/share target=popup><i class="fa fa-whatsapp"></i></a> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41526515.html" class=share-popup id=share-x aria-label="Share on X" target=popup><svg width=19 height=19 aria-hidden=true viewbox="0 0 24 24"><g><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></g></svg></a><span id=expand-share><i class="fa fa-ellipsis-v"></i><div class=expanded-icons style="display: none"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41526515.html" class=share-popup id=share-l aria-label="Share on LinkedIn"><i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i></a> <a href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41526515.html&title=Ireland's women's rugby team won't be profitable 'any time soon' say union chiefs " class=share-popup id=share-r aria-label="Share on Reddit"><i class="fa fa-reddit-alien"></i></a> <a href="mailto:?subject=Irish Examiner Article&body=https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41526515.html" id=share-m aria-label="Share - mail" target="_blank"><i class="fa fa-envelope"></i></a></div></span></div><story><p class="">IRFU executives have admitted that the Ireland Women’s team will not be profitable “any time soon”, despite the great strides made on the pitch by Scott Bemand’s national side.</p><p class="">The governing body’s annual accounts published on Thursday revealed an increase in investment into women’s rugby to a total spend of €8.3 million for the year to the end of July 2024, €2.6m higher than the previous financial year, with chief executive Kevin Potts promising a further increase in budget for the current year.</p><div id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-0"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-0");}); </script> </div><div class="inline-paywall-IE-template"><p class="">Yet there was also an acknowledgement that the move towards professionalism for female international players and the desire to professionalise the provincial game was not adding up financially and the IRFU would continue to take a hit to make Ireland consistently competitive at the highest level of Test rugby.</p><p class="">Ireland finished third in last year’s Six Nations, qualifying for the 2025 World Cup in England and then enjoyed a successful step up to the WV1 series, landing a milestone victory in Vancouver over world champions New Zealand and then beating the USA to finish second in the top-tier competition.</p><p class="">Chief financial officer Thelma O’Driscoll said the women’s team generated income of more than €2m in the reporting period through Six Nations prize money and team sponsors.</p><p class="">“It's starting to grow but it’s not going to be profitable any time soon,” she added before calling on Irish businesses to back their efforts to take the women’s game in Ireland fully professional.</p><p class="">"Our strategic plan is that we want to get to four professional (provincial) teams, but we can't do that at the moment with the level of investment. We need corporate Ireland to really come out and help us if we want to get to the point of starting those teams.</p><p class="">"The money we have invested so far has resulted in increased success for the national team, but we're hoping we can super-charge it as we move forward."</p></div><div id="div-gpt-ad-incontent-1"> <script type="text/javascript">googletag.cmd.push(function(){ googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-incontent-1");}); </script> </div></story></div><div id=after-article-content></div><div></div><div class=story-page-wrapper><div class=story-page-footer><div class=story-page-footer-header><p class=story-page-footer-title>More in this section</p></div><div class="row w-100"><div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"><div class="story-page-element-content row"> <a href="/sport/rugby/arid-41526479.html" class="img-readmore col-md-12 col-5" title="structure articleHeadline"><img loading=lazy src="/cms_media/module_img/8801/4400966_6_teasersmall_2597723-CA_MT2_5716.jpg" alt="Kevin Potts 28/11/2024" title="Inpho" width="201" height="113"> </a><a href="/sport/rugby/arid-41526479.html" class="col-md-12 col-7"> Munster search for new head coach could continue until January</a></div><script type=speculationrules> { "prefetch": [ { "source": "list", "urls": ["/sport/rugby/arid-41526479.html"] } ] } </script></div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"><div class="story-page-element-content row"> <a href="/sport/rugby/arid-41526506.html" class="img-readmore col-md-12 col-5" title="structure articleHeadline"><img loading=lazy src="/cms_media/module_img/8802/4401026_8_teasersmall_2597742-5S_MT2_5953.jpg" alt="Padraig Power 28/11/2024" title="Inpho" width="201" height="113"> </a><a href="/sport/rugby/arid-41526506.html" class="col-md-12 col-7"> Ticket prices could rise with World Cup model 'not working'</a></div><script type=speculationrules> { "prefetch": [ { "source": "list", "urls": ["/sport/rugby/arid-41526506.html"] } ] } </script></div> <div class="col-lg-4 col-md-6"><div class="story-page-element-content row"> <a href="/sport/rugby/arid-41526434.html" class="img-readmore col-md-12 col-5" title="structure articleHeadline"><img loading=lazy src="/cms_media/module_img/8801/4400813_1_teasersmall_2597736-VU_MT2_5850.jpg" alt="Kevin Potts 28/11/2024" title="Inpho" width="201" height="113"> </a><a href="/sport/rugby/arid-41526434.html" class="col-md-12 col-7"> World Cup model 'not working' says IRFU Chief Kevin Potts</a></div><script type=speculationrules> { "prefetch": [ { "source": "list", "urls": ["/sport/rugby/arid-41526434.html"] } ] } </script></div> </div></div></div><div class="col-row rea-next-headline-1 keywords" data-vr-zone="IE front IE viral stories"><div style="width: 100%; margin: 0 0 10px;" id=div-gpt-ad-native-1><script> googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-native-1'); }); </script></div></div><div class="readmore-pop-up card"><div class=btn-close-pop-up><i class="fa fa-angle-down"></i></div><div class=row><div class="col-md-12 p-0 col-3"><a href="/sport/rugby/arid-41526500.html" class="img-readmore readnow" title="structure articleHeadline" id=readnow-image-event-id><img loading=lazy src="/cms_media/module_img/8802/4401020_1_augmentedSearch_2171774-P5_BB1_9594.jpg" alt="<p>TEAM NAMED: Liam Coombes returns from injury to start for Munster A against Ulster A. 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