Basketball Ireland is pleased to appoint John Feehan as its new CEO. He will take up his role on November 15th. Feehan spent 16 years as the CEO of the Six Nations and the British & Irish Lions, between 2002 and 2018. He was also CEO of the PRO12, now called the URC, from 2011 to 2015. During his time with those rugby bodies, Feehan oversaw significant revenue, fan engagement and media growth for all of these properties.
Feehan has set up a number of successful sports-related businesses, including Lions Rugby Travel (the official Lions Travel company), and co-founded Sport2Sport, a specialist sports business consultancy. He is also chairman of travel business Irish Rugby Tours. He has been a business mentor for the charity Social Enterprise Ireland (SEI), which helps other charities with their administration, funding and growth.
Speaking about his appointment as Basketball Ireland CEO, Feehan said: “I’m really excited to get started with Basketball Ireland. Basketball has seen an upsurge in popularity in Ireland over the last number of years and I’m eager to continue to help unlock its full potential. There is huge scope for growth, particularly given its key strengths – such as it being the most diverse and inclusive sport in the country, with not only a 50-50 gender balance, but also a wide base of support, when it comes to participation and engagement. I am determined to make an impact on the sport and I’ll be working hard with all the stakeholders within the game to achieve that.”
Basketball Ireland chairman, Paul McDevitt, added: “We’re delighted to have someone of the calibre of John Feehan to take over as our CEO. His commercial acumen, coupled with his proven and extensive track record in sports administration, make him a natural fit for the job. I really feel that with John at the helm it will herald an exciting time for basketball. He has demonstrated a huge hunger to take on the role and has impressed us with his ambitious plans.”
