NI Sports Forum

Name

NI Sports Forum

Legal name

Northern Ireland Sports Forum

Website

https://nisf.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Advocacy Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Amateur Sport Governing Bodies & Federations (National/Regional) (MPAKACAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Fundraising & Development Services (Foundations, NIL Collectives Support) (MPAKAKAK)

Keywords

• Sports governance services
• Membership association
• Sport advocacy
• Board recruitment
• Safeguarding services

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The organization operates as a membership-based association supporting governing bodies, clubs, and sports organizations through membership subscriptions. Membership consists of Full Members (74), Associate Members (27), and Individual Members (14).
2. Strategic Partnership Services: The organization generates revenue through strategic partnerships including S3 Solutions partnership to provide funding and impact reporting services to members.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Northern Ireland Sports Forum (NISF) is the independent, non-profit membership association for voluntary sport in Northern Ireland. It delivers governance, safeguarding, board recruitment, Access NI background checks, dispute resolution, insurance advice, events, procurement, and shared administration services to its 101+ member organisations, and runs the Female Sports Forum initiative championing female participation in sport. It also publishes the monthly SportsWatch eZine newsletter and represents the sector via the All-Party Group on Sport at Stormont.

Product overview

NI Sports Forum (NISF) operates as an independent membership organization serving as the recognized umbrella body for voluntary sport in Northern Ireland. The organization is not a technology product company but rather provides a portfolio of advisory, support, and advocacy services to its 101+ member organizations including governing bodies, associate members, and individuals. Core services include sports governance guidance, board recruitment, safeguarding support, Access NI checks processing, disputes resolution, insurance advice, events organization, procurement assistance, and shared administration services. The organization also operates the Female Sports Forum initiative to champion female participation in sport, publishes the monthly SportsWatch eZine newsletter, and produces research publications including the annual SportScape Report. NISF advocates for sport across 22+ representational and policy matters and maintains strategic partnerships with organizations including Sport NI, Kingsbridge, and S3 Solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Female Sports Forum: A sub-brand of NISF dedicated to championing female participation and leadership in sport across Northern Ireland. The Female Sports Forum aims to ensure every woman and girl is active, fit and sporty.

Products and services

• Sports Governance Services Advisory and support services for sports organisations on governance matters, helping governing bodies and clubs manage governance practices.
• Board Recruitment Programme Programme assisting sports governing bodies with recruiting board members, sharing 103 candidates with member organisations in 2025.
• Access NI Checks Processing of AccessNI background checks for sports organisations; 350 checks processed for members in 2025.
• Safeguarding Services Support and guidance on safeguarding practices for member organisations and the wider sport sector.
• Disputes Resolution Mediation and resolution services for disputes within the sports sector.
• Insurance Advice Advisory services on insurance matters for sports organisations and member clubs.
• Events Services Organisation and support of sector events, workshops, sports briefings, and conferences for member organisations.
• Procurement Service Assistance with procurement processes for member organisations.
• Shared Administration Service Pilot service providing documentation, policy development, reporting, and operational assistance to sports organisations.
• SportsWatch eZine Monthly newsletter covering sports news, analysis, and sector developments for the Northern Ireland sporting community, with over 1,000 subscribers.
• Female Sports Forum Initiative championing female participation and leadership in sport across Northern Ireland, including the Women's Sport Series events and resource hub.
• NISF SportScape Report Annual report providing insights and analysis on the sports sector in Northern Ireland.
• Advocacy & Policy Services Representing members' interests and advocating for sport at strategic level, including All-Party Group on Sport administration; engaged in 22+ representational and policy matters in 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• 350 AccessNI checks processed for member organizations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sport Northern IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSport NI is a key strategic partner working with NISF on investment, policy, and sport development initiatives. NISF acts as secretariat to the All-Party Group on Sport and collaborates on initiatives including disability mainstreaming and athlete support programmes.
• S3 SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership providing funding support services to NISF members. Chris Hood, Partnerships Manager at S3 Solutions, delivers workshops on stronger proposals and impact reporting to help sports organizations access funding.
• Ulster University Centre for Sport in SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on research initiatives including the Research Agenda for Recognising the Value of Sport and Physical Activity in Northern Ireland, hosted at Ulster University's Belfast Campus.
• Belfast City Council / GLLminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in sector research events supporting the research agenda for sport in Northern Ireland.
• Kingsbridge Private HospitalminorOthersStrategic partner supporting the work of NISF as shown in partner logos section.
• Sports Lawn NIminorOthersStrategic partner supporting sport in Northern Ireland.
• Attis SportsminorOthersStrategic partner supporting sport in Northern Ireland.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sport England: The England-wide equivalent public body distributing government and National Lottery funding into grassroots sport; structurally analogous to NISF at much larger scale, sharing the convening/advocacy role across national sport organizations.
• Sport Wales: The Welsh national body for sport, again a devolved-nation analogue to NISF with similar functions in funding, policy advocacy, and supporting national governing bodies and grassroots clubs.
• UK Sport: The UK-wide high-performance sport agency funding Olympic and Paralympic sports; comparable in being a national sport sector stakeholder with policy access, though its elite-sport remit differs from NISF's grassroots focus.
• Sport Scotland: The Scottish national agency for sport, with a comparable devolved-nation remit to NISF in supporting governing bodies, clubs, and community sport — a close functional analogue despite Scotland's larger scale.
• Sport Northern Ireland: The statutory public body for sport development in Northern Ireland and NISF's closest strategic partner; it operates more broadly with government funding across investment, policy, and athlete support, while NISF serves as the voluntary-sector umbrella, making them highly comparable in mission and constituency though different in funding structure.

Emerging players

• Youth Sport Trust: A UK children's charity improving PE and school sport through programmes and advocacy; comparable to NISF in serving sport-development and inclusion missions within a sector-advocacy structure, though focused specifically on youth and education settings.
• Activity Alliance (Disability Sport): A UK disability sport alliance and NISF's sector counterpart for inclusive participation; comparable in being a sector-advocacy membership body operating within the broader sport ecosystem and overlapping with NISF's disability sport work.

Direct peers

• Sport and Recreation Alliance: A UK-wide membership association for sport and recreation governing bodies, clubs, and charities; the closest direct peer to NISF in terms of membership model, advocacy mission, and representation of voluntary sport, though operating at UK rather than NI level.
• Community Leisure UK: A membership body representing charitable leisure trusts and sport organizations across the UK; highly comparable to NISF as a sector-wide membership association advocating on policy and delivering shared services to voluntary/community sport operators.

Regional players

• CIMSPA: The professional development body for the sport and physical activity workforce in the UK; a sector-wide membership organization comparable to NISF in serving a defined sport-sector constituency, though focused on workforce standards and qualifications rather than governing-body representation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nisportsforum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCItm-vhp6LQXLsRWXKxlGng
• Facebookfacebook.com/NISportsForum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-ireland-sports-forum
• Instagraminstagram.com/femalesportsforum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NI Sports Forum