Penny Gray
In every town and parish across Ireland, the backbone of amateur sport is built on voluntary effort. Coaches, managers, club officers and parents keep fixtures moving and children playing, often relying on WhatsApp groups, spreadsheets, Facebook updates and pen-and-paper scoring. But while professional sport has migrated to real-time data and instant fan engagement, most grass-roots clubs remain in a digital blind spot.
This is the gap Anyscor was founded to fill. Launched in September 2023, the platform has quickly become one of the most significant innovations to hit amateur sport in years. “We started off in the Energia AIL, the top amateur rugby league in Ireland, onboarding clubs one by one until we were live-scoring every game across the men’s and women’s divisions,” said founder Colin Deering. “We’ve reached number two in the App Store, with over 13,500 users on our fan app and 300,000 sessions. And that uptake is only accelerating.”
Anyscor offers what Deering describes as a “full digital ecosystem” rather than simply a scoring app. On one side is a simple-to-use platform for coaches and volunteers to log squads, fixtures and live match events. On the other is a dedicated fan app where supporters can follow live scores, results, league tables, notifications and sponsor messages.
“For fans, we’re offering a single source of live scores and match data, instead of chasing sporadic posts across X or Instagram,” Deering explained. “For clubs, we’re giving them the tools to record and communicate what’s happening on the pitch, in real time.”
Crucially, Anyscor also integrates a revenue engine. Through the club dashboard, administrators can control digital advertising banners on their fan-app pages, an innovation Deering said can generate “up to €45,000 in revenue for clubs by giving them ownership of their data and their sponsor inventory”.
Instead of static pitch-side banners that can sit unchanged for years, clubs can rotate digital sponsors in seconds, refreshing campaigns weekly or monthly. “We’re providing digital inventory that has nationwide reach,” said Deering. “A sponsor’s logo is literally in the palm of supporters’ hands.”
After two full seasons of proving the platform in Ireland, Anyscor has moved beyond pilot phase. “We’ve spent the last 10 months developing a scalable platform for multisport, multiterritory expansion,” said Deering. “We’ve nailed amateur rugby in Ireland, and we’re now rolling out to clubs in Wales, Scotland and England. Our sights are firmly set on the US market next.”
Remarkably, the fan base is already global. Supporters from Sydney to Canada are using the app to follow their home clubs abroad. This organic traction underscores Deering’s belief in the scale of the opportunity. “We’re talking about a market of 750,000 amateur clubs across Europe and the US, and 750 million supporters,” he said. “And they’re missing out on a €45 billion sponsorship market because the tech simply hasn’t existed.”
While sports tech has boomed at elite level, amateur sport has been left behind. “Pen and paper is still so widely used,” Deering noted. “There are apps that provide fixtures or results, but very few enable clubs to produce live scores at amateur level. The tools just haven’t been there to empower volunteers.”
This is where Anyscor sees its advantage as first mover. “We’re revolutionising grassroots sport,” Deering said. “As a volunteer coach for 12 years and a dad of four sports-mad kids, I know how frustrating it is not knowing the score or having to rely on scattered posts. We’re giving clubs the power of professional-grade tools, without the complexity.”
The company is led by Deering, whose 30-plus years in startups and e-commerce sit alongside deep volunteer-coach experience, alongside a slate of respected advisors including Jim Glennon, Ross Byrne and Jack Hanratty. Awards have followed quickly, including Business of the Year 2024, Best Innovation in Business 2025 (Fingal Chamber) and inclusion in the Business Post & Enterprise Ireland Hot 100 Startups 2025.
Anyscor qualifies for 35 per cent Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS) tax relief, reflecting its position as a revenue-generating, scaling business rather than a pre-commercial startup. Importantly, Enterprise Ireland – already an investor – has given the company a verbal commitment to co-invest €250,000 against the first €250,000 raised. “That’s really vital,” Deering said. “It’s a strong signal of institutional confidence.”
Funds from this round will support product innovation, international expansion, multisport integration and team growth. And the advantages for investors are multiple – a huge, underserved global market; proven early traction and validated product demand; a scalable model with low incremental cost; strong founder and advisory pedigree; clear pathways to international growth; and institutional backing from Enterprise Ireland.
As Deering put it: “We’ve done it in rugby. Now we’re scaling into multiple sports, multiple territories, and talking to partners in the US. The size of the opportunity is enormous, and our platform is built to capture it.”
Read the article on the Business Post: https://www.businesspost.ie/commercial-reports/real-time-scores-real-world-potential/