Full coverage: sport

As artificial surfaces become increasingly prevalent in Irish rugby and beyond, the sport must maintain a delicate balance between embracing innovation and ensuring player safety.

Thomas Byrne, the Minister of State for Sport, and Elena Pecos, the head of Decathlon Ireland, recently swapped notes on the business of sport – from the French retailer's move into Clery's to funding for national facilities.

John Feehan is the former CEO of the Six Nations, while Derek McGrath ran the European Rugby Cup. Now, they have launched a new business, Sport2Sport, which aims to help sports organisations, event owners and brands deal with Covid-19.

As the pandemic rages on, fitness businesses are facing danger once more. Some of the major players in the sport and leisure market discuss what they've done to cope with challenges presented by Covid-19 and their plans for the future.

The French sport retailing giant will open to the Irish public for the first time tomorrow, after a two-month wait. Decathlon's new stores are designed to offer a live sporting experience, but after some of its staff lost their lives to Covid-19 in Italy, the chain has promised strict health and safety measures.

The bottom has dropped out of Ireland's sport sponsorship market as a result of Covid-19. The question now is whether it will come back in the same form.

With no background in sport, Dave Kearney decided to team up with US based mental health coach Jim Afremow, who worked with several Olympians, to create the Champion’s Mind App. The app is now six months old, used by 10,000 people and looking to take on the American market.