Padel news: Padel 100 launches initiative to provide free padel courts for Irish schools
Ireland’s largest padel rollout company Padel 100 has announced its plans to offer Irish schools free padel courts.
With over 20 schools already onboarded and 50 new courts set for installation nationwide in coming months, it is an initiative that is generating huge attention from schools all over the country.
The plan forms part of the rapidly growing Irish sports company’s mission to make sport more accessible, modern, and community-driven for the next generation.
World-class sports infrastructure
Padel 100 has announced one of Ireland’s largest school-sports infrastructure rollouts in recent years, with plans to install brand-new padel courts across Irish schools, completely free of charge to participating schools.
Under the initiative, Padel 100 fully funds the purchase and installation of the courts, with schools receiving the facilities at no capital cost.
Schools will also receive an ongoing royalty payment from every public booking made outside school hours.
The model allows schools to benefit from world-class sports infrastructure while creating a new long-term income stream for education and extracurricular development.
Padel is widely considered the world’s fastest-growing sport, with a new club opening worldwide every 100 minutes, according to the Playtomic Global Padel Report 2026, published last week.
The sport combines elements of tennis and squash and has exploded in popularity across Europe, attracting players of all ages and abilities.
Community and youth engagement
Announcing the initiative, co-founder & CEO Ben Keohane said: “This is about giving back to schools and communities.
“We’re creating facilities that students can use during the school day while also building hubs for local families, clubs, and communities in the evenings, weekends, and school holidays.
“Many schools simply don’t have the funding available for projects like this, so we wanted to remove that barrier entirely.
“We install the courts for free, the schools benefit directly from usage revenues, and communities get access to a fun, healthy, social sport that people of all ages can play together.
“Padel 100 operates the courts commercially outside school hours to recoup its investment, creating what it describes as a sustainable shared-community model between education and sport.”
Padel 100 is not only expanding into schools, but also into hotels, sports complexes, leisure centres, and community facilities across Ireland as demand for the sport continues to accelerate.
The company expects to have 49 courts fully live and operational nationwide by the first week of July, with more than 100 courts already committed to sites across Ireland by Christmas 2026.
In addition to its commercial rollout, the company’s long-term goal is to install a further 100 padel courts directly into Irish schools as part of its broader community and youth participation strategy.
Padel 100 continues expansion
Founded in Ireland in 2025, Padel 100 has rapidly grown into Ireland’s largest padel development company and is currently backed by more than 190 private investors.
To date, the company has raised more than €3 million to fund court acquisitions and nationwide installations.
The investment has been structured under Ireland’s Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS), allowing qualifying investors to avail of significant tax relief.
The current investment round remains open until the end of the year, with:
50% tax relief currently available until July 1
Relief reducing to 35% thereafter
Minimum investment of €1000
Head of investment at Padel 100 Nathan McSharry said: “All investment funds are being directly deployed into purchasing and installing courts nationwide.
“Individuals interested in becoming part of the expansion can learn more at www.padelinvestor.eu and I will be delighted to talk people through the process.”
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