The importance of World Cups

Dave Sihra (Substack - Dave Meets Ball)

Global tournaments can be massive opportunities to showcase your sport but what do you really get from them. 

There were glorious scenes at the Estadio Nacional in Chile a few weeks ago. First up we had the Ireland Men’s hockey team qualify for the 2026 Hockey World Cup with both the Men’s and Women’s editions taking place in Belgium and the Netherlands this August.

After dominating in the group stage of the qualifier event, they conclusively beat Wales in the tournament semi-final which secured them a spot after an eight-year absence. For extra satisfaction, it was also a narrow defeat to Wales that denied them last time.

A few days later the Ireland Women’s hockey team then nailed down their own spot after a tense shootout win against Japan. We have also since had the draw which has both the Men’s and Women’s teams based in Wavre, just under an hour outside Brussels. Handy enough for Irish hockey fans looking to support both teams, and a short flight away.

Irish cricket fans of course very much know the significance of appearing at a World Cup. Ireland becoming a Full Member cricket nation begins with performances at Sabina Park in 2007, then Bangalore 2011 and onto Nelson 2015.

Huge work also went on in between to get Irish cricket to where it is now but the effect of those moments on the back pages and in the evening news can’t be overstated. It’s a massive opportunity for kids to discover heroes and dream dreams of where they could be in ten or fifteen years with a little bit of elbow grease.
Irish hockey of course had a moment of its own in 2018 when the women’s team navigated a remarkable run to the World Cup final having been the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament.

The sport may now have another on the horizon with both its Men’s and Women’s teams at the main event and stationed in the same town. They’ve never qualified like this together for their respective World Cups in the same location or ever made it to an Olympics together. So the upcoming matches in Wavre could end up becoming a potentially massive opportunity for hockey on this island.

Back to the cricket. The Ireland Women’s team of course have secured their spot in the T20 Cricket World Cup this coming June in England and Wales. This comes after missing out on the previous tournament in 2024 when they were stunned by Scotland having dominated in the qualifier event.

At the end of the Ed Joyce tenure, Ireland Women then also missed out on the previous ODI World Cup, which they weren’t likely to qualify for but enjoyed strong positions in games against Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh that could have seen them secure a spot on the biggest stage.

Ireland Men recently took part in their T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India but of course couldn’t make it out of their group. One win however over an undercooked Oman side didn’t really make headlines bar some impressive milestones such as scoring one of the highest ever totals at a Men’s T20 World Cup.

The side though enjoyed dominant moments of play against Sri Lanka in their opening game and a famous win against the tournament co-hosts in front of a near-packed Premadasa Stadium could have certainly put Irish cricket back in the news. It wasn’t to be however.

All of this maybe adds to the importance of the upcoming T20 World Cup in June for this exciting group of young players and possibly cricket on the island overall. The short distance across the Irish Sea allows an excellent opportunity to see the likes of Gaby Lewis, Orla Prendergast and Amy Hunter on the highest stage - where they should be.

Sing when you’re winning

There is a feeling in Cricket Ireland that national outlets will only pick Irish cricket stories if there’s a win. In a sense that’s understandable. Irish sport is a very congested space at all times with a regular diet of football, rugby, GAA, then throw in occasional stories in say rowing, athletics, boxing, and your cricket or hockey.

If that is the case though, it’s incredibly short sighted because sport isn’t always about winning. What about the remarkable lone-hand effort, incredible career milestones, the comeback kid, or the player that has just moved up to a completely new level of elite performance.

And what about the wins. Are all victories made the same? As Irish cricket fans we know they’re not. There could be an Ireland Men’s “home” T20I win against South Africa in the UAE. Or you can have Ireland Women beating Thailand at a World Cup qualifier event in Nepal that secures a spot at the main tournament.

In the cricket world it can often feel like there’s a distinct lack of context. How does one match or series lead to the next. How does one world cup even lead to the next. India Men have just won two T20 World Cups on the bounce. Where do we put those teams in the pantheon? Or is it too early yet?

Ireland Men could soon be included in an expanded World Test Championship and we may yet see the return of the ODI Super League. Those moves are much needed but they still remain to be seen.

All of this is to say World Cups can be a shot in the arm for the media coverage of a minority sport. And maybe that adds to the pressure of a team like Ireland going to World Cups. There’s almost the need to remind everyone else in the cricket world that we exist and are worth following maybe as your second team, as well as getting the story out across Ireland.

This maybe makes conversations around a European nations tournament so important. Such a competition would be a vital opportunity for the boards of the region to control some of the context around their cricket. Of course it’ll also provide more cricket for those who need it.

The ICC will always run the main international events, control funding and facilitate the Future Tours Programme, but a more regional approach could allow regions to develop solutions to their own unique marketing and media challenges. The problems of Indian cricket or even Nepalese cricket certainly don’t resemble the challenges in Irish or Dutch cricket.

In it to win it

Cut to the Fortuna Arena in Prague last Thursday. The Republic of Ireland Men’s football team have just been knocked out of the World Cup play offs after losing a penalty shootout having been two goals up in the first half and then led in spot kicks.

On the faces of the team and staff you could see it all. In their minds they’d let down a nation who still believed there was a chance of qualification. What Seamus Coleman, Troy Parrott and company probably also keenly understand is the importance of simply just being seen; of being role models. Young boys and girls see you on the top stage, get inspired, then they become the next cohort.

That’s football of course at the top of the queue with plenty of eyeballs. Cricket Ireland, Hockey Ireland and every other sport have to wait in line. But whether it’s a World Cup, an All Ireland club final, or a Euro Nations Cup, the equation is simple: being seen, then creating role models to inspire and secure the next cohort.

This article was originally published on the Substack: Dave Meets Ball