Taoiseach presents "Deal of the Year" Award to Newry Company

Newry company STATSports lifted the title of Deal of the Year at The Irish Times Business Awards held in Dublin last week for it's recent £1 billion deal with US Soccer. On hand to present the award was Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

The sports tech firm’s deal with US Soccer – the governing body of the sport in the US - struck earlier this year fought off stiff competition from a number of other hefty transactions, including the flotation of AIB.

It will see millions of players in the US wearing its monitoring devices – the largest player data monitoring programme in the world - and is worth up to £1 billion.

The inaugural Irish Times Business Awards in association with KPMG took place at the Mansion House in Dublin last week.

STATSports Group Managing Director Jarlath Quinn said “It’s an honour to receive the Deal of the Year Award, especially when we were up against such prestigious competition. The US Soccer deal really is ground breaking for the company and rewards the hard work the team have put in over the last few years.

“Our APEX Team Series system lies at the heart of that success and has received a warm welcome, not just in the US but by some of the biggest sporting organisations around the world. Since that deal we’ve also signed up the Brazil Football Confederation and will supply the technology to all the Brazilian national teams within the federation.

“We’ve come a long way since starting up in 2007 and this award marks the next stage on our journey.”

This latest award comes hot on the heels of STATSports taking a runner-up spot in the Most Innovative Wearable category at the Sports Technology Awards in London. These prestigious global awards saw STATSports’ technology go head-to-head with the likes of Fitbit, only a matter of months before the Newry company’s own consumer product is released.

STATSports also picked up the Best SME Award at the Aer Lingus Takeoff Foundation awards last week, in association with Ulster Business.

STATSports’ suite of player development hardware and software provides coaches, high performance staff and players the ability to holistically analyse each player’s individual response to training sessions and games, through real-time feedback.

This ability will continue to remain a crucial element in enhancing performance on the field while also reducing the chances of players under-training or picking up injuries through over-training.

STATSports already supplies clubs in the English Premier League, including Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and the Brazil, Germany, Portugal, Belgium and England football associations. NFL, NHL, Rugby Union, NBA, Track and Field and Hockey also use the company’s APEX Team Series GPS units which provide real-time data to players and coaches to drive improved performance.