Sky Ireland, Primary Partner of the Republic of Ireland Women's National Team, today announced a bursary designed to support senior women's players on their paths outside of football. Today's announcement comes six months after Sky Ireland was revealed as the WNT's first ever standalone primary partner.
Launched at an event in Dublin today, the Sky WNT Fund' will award a minimum of 25,000 this year, to assist five Women's National Team players with their academic studies and career development off the pitch.
Sky's International Women's Day event - attended by WNT team manager, Vera Pauw, WNT forward Saoirse Noonan and former WNT Players, Emma Byrne and Paula Gorham - was also held to facilitate a conversation on women's football in Ireland, its progression in recent years and the importance of continued growth within the sport to ensure opportunities are afforded to young aspiring players.
Nationally representative *research, conducted by Sky, showed that 8 in 10 people agree that it is important that we recognise and support Irish womens football and the Women's National Team. Those aged 25-34 were most likely to agree, coming in at 83%. The findings also showed that 78% of people agree that the Women's National Team deserves the same level of recognition as the Men's National Team.
Speaking at the launch of the Sky WNT Fund, Chief Commercial Officer at Sky Ireland, Orlaith Ryan, said: We are immensely proud of our partnership with this great squad and in the short time we have been their primary partner, we have seen this team break record after record. For us, this partnership has always been about the players and doing what we can to help them succeed and fulfil their potential. That applies to ambitions off the pitch as well as on it. That is why we are launching the Sky WNT Fund today. A number of the players in the squad are juggling elite athlete schedules with third level education or other careers. This Fund aims to offer assistance to players on those journeys. In addition to the Fund, we will be offering mentorship opportunities relevant to a player's chosen career or education path.
Also speaking today, Women's National Team Manager, Vera Pauw, said: "Sky have been a fantastic partner for the Republic of Ireland Womens Team since coming in and their continued support is helping us to reach new audiences and make a real difference in womens football. The creation of a special fund to help our players beyond the football pitch is truly amazing and will go to helping our players remain as positive role models and be successful in whatever path they take. We are extremely proud of our players for what they do to break down barriers and inspire others. This fund shows that Sky understand that the players need to think about their long-term futures, not just in the game but when they eventually hang up their boots. This is a really positive initiative that proves Sky really care about our team and we appreciate their support."
Women's National Team player, Saoirse Noonan also said: Our partnership with Sky has marked a real turning point for this squad. It coincided with the equal pay announcement and all of that culminated in a real sense of belief within the team. Every player gives 100% to this squad and, speaking from experience, it can be difficult juggling club and international football with a career. The launch of this Fund will make a real difference to the team.
The Sky WNT Fund is a 25,000 bursary that will be awarded to five WNT recipients in 2022. Any WNT player can apply for funding - entries for which will be done by completing a short form, to understand what path is being pursued and how the funding will assist on that path.
Notes to Editors
*Research was conducted by Empathy research on behalf of Sky Ireland on a nationally representative sample of N=1,000 adults aged 18+ from 1st-9th November 2021.
About Sky
Sky is Europe's leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Across six countries, we connect our 23 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news, arts and to our own award-winning original content.
Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love - with entertainment from Sky TV, Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, and apps like Spotify, YouTube, ROXi, Highbrow, Fiit, and more, in one place, easy. Our streaming service, NOW, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.
Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, Bulletproof and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free and Sky Sports, our leading sports broadcasting service brings customers some of the biggest and best global sporting events from the Premier League to Formula 1 and everything in between. Sky Cinema is the home of Sky Original films with brand new films launching every month alongside an unrivalled range of the latest cinema releases and on demand library. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which will open in 2022, is expected to create over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK over the first five years.
We believe that we can be a force for good in the communities in which we operate. We're committed to being Europe's first net zero carbon entertainment company by 2030 and we're proud to be a Principal Partner and Media Partner of COP26 - the UN Climate Change Conference. We take pride in our approach to diversity and inclusion: we've been recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our commitment to diversity, and we've set ambitious 2025 targets to contin
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Sky Ireland, Primary Partner of the Republic of Ireland Women's National Team, today announced a bursary designed to support senior women's players on their paths outside of football. Today's announcement comes six months after Sky Ireland was revealed as the WNT's first ever standalone primary partner. 
