From Visibility to Value: Why the Global Sports Sponsorship Boom Demands a Smarter Irish Strategy

Sports sponsorship is entering one of its most consequential growth phases. The Business Research Company’s latest global analysis finds the market valued at $70.34 billion (€65.2 billion) in 2025 and forecast to reach $90.13 billion (€83.5 billion) by 2029, at a CAGR of 6.4%. Three forces are driving that trajectory: the accelerating integration of digital platforms, the rise of esports and non-traditional sports as commercial properties, and deepening demand for measurable activation. For Irish brands and rights holders, the timing is propitious. The 20th ONSIDE Irish Sponsorship Industry Survey confirms total domestic investment is projected to reach €247 million in 2026, up 5% on the €235.5 million recorded in 2025.

The global data and the Irish evidence tell the same story: sponsorship has become a strategic engine for audience engagement and commercial differentiation. The market’s growth is not without friction — 73% of marketers cite measurement complexity as a leading restraint — but the direction of travel is unmistakably positive. Three themes define the near-term opportunity for C-suites: the platformisation of sponsorship through digital channels, the mainstreaming of influencer and ambassador partnerships, and AI-enabled evaluation.

Digital activation is the fastest-growing global segment, with 64% digital adoption now recorded among sponsors globally. ONSIDE’s survey reinforces this at the Irish level, with nearly eight in ten sponsors planning to increase their social platform use in 2026. Esports sponsorships are up 39% globally and multi-platform integration sits at 72% adoption, reflecting a structural shift in how under-35 audiences consume sports content and what they expect from sponsoring brands.

Influencer and ambassador partnerships are reshaping the Irish market in real time. ONSIDE recorded a record volume of such deals in 2025, doubling the previous high from 2022. Half of Irish sponsors are now considering ambassador or influencer agreements in 2026. Public research conducted alongside the survey found that 68% of under-25s support brands aligning with personalities, and 77% regard influencer endorsements as effective — figures that explain why budgets are moving toward talent-led strategies.

AI adoption is the next lever. Almost four in ten Irish sponsors plan to use AI tools for the first time in 2026, primarily for data analysis and measurement. This addresses the sector’s greatest structural weakness — the gap between what sponsorship delivers and what sponsors can prove it delivers. C-suites should prioritise building measurement frameworks before AI tools become baseline expectations rather than competitive differentiators.

The global market and Ireland’s outperforming domestic data tell a consistent story: sports sponsorship is expanding its commercial mandate. Brands that treat it as a performance channel — investing in digital activation, talent partnerships, and AI-driven measurement — will extract disproportionate value from a market that is simultaneously growing more competitive and more rewarding.

(The views expressed by the writer are his/her own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)