Each GAA club in Sligo will be provided with their own personalised Club Scoreboard. A Club Scoreboard is a mini web-page which receives a ‘live’ feed of official club results, fixtures and league tables direct from the County Board. Match results are typically returned to the Scoreboard within 30 minutes after a match. Leagues tables are automatically re-calculated ‘live’ as each result is returned. If the Sligo county fixtures secretary changes a fixture it is immediately updated to the club Scoreboard.

Many sports clubs have a website but find it a major struggle to update. The most popular area in any club website is the fixtures, results and league tables. Keeping this up-to-date is the biggest headache for a club. A Club Scoreboard will dramatically improve a club website; it is bolted on to an existing club website or it can be used as a stand-alone webpage for a club. The Scoreboard is powered by eSports Manager, a web and SMS platform developed by an innovative web company based in Castlebar in Co Mayo. www.21stcentury.ie

A Club Scoreboard does not cost a club any money; in fact it provides an opportunity for a club to generate revenue. Sligo GAA Clubs can activate their scoreboard by selling 2, 5, 10, or 18 adverts on their Scoreboard to local businesses. Clubs can make up to €2,600 towards their own club funds; depending on how many adverts they sell.

Seamus Kyne, Managing Director of eSports Manager explains that “GAA clubs are under constant pressure to raise money by selling raffle tickets, match programmes and lotto tickets. They are always looking at new ways to make money for their club”. The Scoreboard offers a unique opportunity for clubs to make some money and provide accurate and timely results and fixtures to club members, supporters, players, parents, underage and ex-pats

21st Century Sport in conjunction with Sligo County Board have commenced the roll-out of the Club Scoreboard service in Sligo and surrounding counties. The service can be provided in 26 Counties and to over 1,900 GAA clubs in Ireland. The Scoreboard can also be provided to Leinster and Connaught rugby, some Ladies Gaelic, Camogie, handball, Irish American Football League and a few soccer leagues.

eSports Manager software has been in use by sports bodies since 2005. The software is the first of its kind and has been specifically designed for grassroots amateur sports. In 2009, in GAA alone the eSports system will manage 1,800 club competitions and collect results for over 33,000 fixtures. Results are returned from match officials for adult, divisional and underage competitions from U12 upwards for 1,900 Clubs. This year, the GAA Scoreboard will provide results, fixtures & league tables to 12,000+ teams and an estimated 700,000+ supporters.

For more information on the Scoreboard service contact Eamonn McMunn 087-052 4574 or visit www.clubscoreboard.ie.