Aileen Daly, Partner, EY Ireland; Neptune Basketball Inclusion team members Liam Desmond, Aidan Lenihan, James Hunter and EY Cork Managing Partner, John Higgins.

EY Ireland joins Corks inclusion basketball team

Grace Sweeney

Ireland’s oldest basketball club has just announced a major new sponsor for the club’s inclusion team this week.

EY Ireland has become a sponsor of Neptune Basketball Club’s inclusion team which was founded to promote inclusion in sport and encourage young people with a disability, aged 8-16 years, to take part in basketball.

Chairman for Neptune Basketball Club, Tom O’Sullivan said: “At Neptune, making sport accessible to all is truly important to us. We feel passionate about creating opportunities for young people with a disability so that they can share in the joy and fun that playing basketball brings.”

The new EY Neptune Inclusion Basketball team kicked off its season in September and trains every week at Neptune stadium in Cork. Neptune was founded in 1947.

John Higgins, EY Cork Managing Partner, commented “We are honoured to be the official sponsor of the EY Neptune Inclusion Basketball Team.

“Celebrating diversity, promoting inclusion and teamwork are core values at EY, so this partnership is a fantastic opportunity for us to support inclusion in the sports sector.

“We look forward to supporting the EY Neptune Inclusion Team grow as it continues to provide opportunities for young players to have fun, enjoy playing basketball and being part of a team,” he added.

Membership applications for the inclusion team are growing, and as the season unfolds, the team aims to build relationships with other basketball clubs across Ireland that are also promoting inclusion in basketball.

Mr O’Sullivan added: “We believe that being involved in sport can have an incredibility positive impact on a young person’s life, and our coaches and volunteers help to teach our young players valuable social skills, and the benefits of teamwork, cooperation, and mutual support.

“We are delighted that EY is coming on board as a sponsor for this important and inspiring initiative and with EY’s support, we hope to see the EY Neptune inclusion team go from strength to strength.”