With Conor McGregor making headlines in the UFC, coupled with the success of other Irish fighters in making it to the biggest stage for the sport, the calls have increased for mixed martial arts to receive government funding.
However, it seems that there might be a bit of a wait in store on that front, as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Pascal Donohoe revealed that the decision was "a long way away".
Speaking to The Journal, Minsiter Donohoe stated that he believed that MMA was a sport in his view, and while it's not to everyone's tastes, the strides made by McGregor and other Irish fighters certainly merited consideration.
However, it is yet to be recognised as a sport by the Sports Council, something which Mr. Donohoe stated was outside of his control: "They’re an independent body to government and they handle all matters in relation to governing and regulation — independent of the views of myself or my department".
He added that "I think UFC, and mixed martial arts more broadly, has been a phenomenon across the world and increasingly so in Ireland, and I do believe that Conor McGregor is an extraordinary athlete".
Mr. Donohoe added that the growth of the sport was one of the factors that needed to be considered in whether or not it gained recognition from the Sports Council, and therefore government funding, but that "I think we’re a long way away from that at the moment. My own view is that I do believe it is a sport [...] because everybody who gets into the octagon does so on the basis of consent".
He went on to say that "if you look at the number of mixed martial arts gyms that are all over the country now, the growth of some of the codes within MMA, the amount of training that goes into it, the amount of interest it commands, people all over our country are deciding that it is a sport by wanting to watch it and train in it".
Via The42.ie
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