The Story Behind TeambackerNI
A Parent.
A Problem.
A Solution.
Where This all Started
I'm a parent of two children who between them play a whole range of sports.
Football, swimming, athletics… whatever the season brings, there's a kit bag somewhere in the hall and a Saturday morning somewhere on the calendar. If you have kids who play team sports, you know the feeling.
For years I'd watch the kits come out at the start of each season and see the sponsor's name on the front. A local business, a construction firm, sometimes just a family friend who ran a company. And I'd think… “I'd love to do that. I'd love for my child to wear a shirt that I helped make possible.”
But I work in the charity sector. Before that, I spent time in the public sector. Neither of those careers comes with a company name you can slap on a jersey. I'm not a director of anything. I don't have a VAT number. I'm just a parent.
"I kept wondering — why does sponsoring your child's team have to mean owning a business? What about the rest of us?”
The Gap Nobody was Filling
Every season, the same thing would happen across clubs throughout Northern Ireland. Some teams would find a local sponsor… a plasterer, an estate agent, a garage… and get their kits sorted. Other teams, the ones whose parents happened to work for employers, charities, or the public sector, would go without. Or they'd end up with a patchwork of small logos and a kit that looked more like a notice board than a football shirt.
It wasn't anyone's fault. It's just the way the system worked. Sponsorship was for businesses. Parents were spectators.
I spent a long time thinking about whether there was another way. Not a fundraiser, not a raffle, not a club drive… something that actually gave parents the same kind of pride and recognition that a business sponsor gets. Something that said: your support matters, your name belongs on that kit.
"What if a parent could be the official sponsor… not through their employer, but as themselves? Their name. Their child's team. Their season."
Why TeambackerNI Works
The answer was TeambackerNI. The platform becomes the official sponsor. The brand on the front of the shirt, but the parent is the backer. Recognised on the sleeve. Named in the certificate. Featured on social media. The person who made it happen.
It's one parent per team, per season. Exclusive. Meaningful. And completely open to anyone. Whether you're a nurse, a teacher, a social worker, or anyone else who's spent years watching from the sidelines and wanting to do more.
Clubs get guaranteed funding and clean, professional kits. Parents get recognition and pride. Children get a season knowing that someone who loves them backed them. Officially, visibly, and for the whole season.
What I Believe
Parents deserve recognition
You don't need a business card to support your child's team. You just need to care and TeambackerNI makes that official.
Clubs deserve certainty
No team should go into a season without a sponsor. TeambackerNI solves that from within the club's own community.
Kids deserve the best
A professional kit. A parent who backed them. A season that feels supported. That's what this is really about.
Community over commerce
TeambackerNI keeps sponsorship inside the community, where it belongs, rather than chasing it from outside.
This is for every parent who ever wished they could do more.
I built TeambackerNI because I couldn't find what I was looking for. If you've ever stood on the sideline and thought the same thing. This is for you.