CHICAGO – October 28, 2026 -- Commercial property insurer FM is the presenting partner of Ireland's Kicking King, a final that puts four Irish kickers in front of a U.S. college football audience at halftime of the Northwestern-Iowa game on November 7 at the new $875 million Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois.
More than 1,000 athletes entered the pipeline through ten free tryouts in Ireland
The competition is open to athletes aged 16 to 24, most of whom have never kicked an American football. Tryouts began in August. The top 20 kicked at halftime of the TCU-North Carolina game at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on August 29, where Patrick Gaynor made a 61-yard kick. The top 10 then joined an elite training group in Dublin before travelling to Chicago.
Ryan Sports Ventures and Leader Kicking build a data program around the final
Ryan Sports Ventures is the sports investment arm of the Ryan family, lead donor for Ryan Field and a minority owner of the Chicago Bears and AFC Bournemouth. It has partnered with Leader Kicking on a program that includes the final, a feature documentary and a University of Notre Dame study of kicking biomechanics.
Playermaker foot-mounted sensors and Trackman radar tracked each athlete and every ball's flight. Kickers also wore Oakley Meta glasses that captured first-person footage at Aviva Stadium. The data feeds the Notre Dame study, described as the first large dataset on how kicking talent is identified and developed.
Leader Kicking alumni have earned over $3 million in scholarships
More than 20 Leader Kicking athletes are active in Division I and the NFL. Alumnus Charlie Smyth made a 56-yard field goal for the New Orleans Saints on his first NFL attempt on November 30, 2025, a record distance for an Irish-born player. He had taken up American football about two years earlier. The academy's athletes have held NFL positions with the Saints, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons.
Brothers Tadhg and Darragh Leader founded the academy. Tadhg Leader previously served as the NFL's kicking and punting coach for the International Player Pathway.
FM extends its sports sponsorship portfolio beyond golf
FM is an Official Partner of the LPGA and title sponsor of the FM Championship on the LPGA Tour. It is also a principal partner for the men's and women's Boston Common Golf teams in TGL presented by SoFi. Its athlete sponsorships include Rory McIlroy, Lottie Woad and Megan Khang. Meta, Amazon Web Services and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center also sponsor Ireland's Kicking King.
FM chief operating officer Randy Hodge said the insurer backs the event because hard work and constant progress help people accomplish big things.
Rob Ryan, managing partner of Ryan Sports Ventures, said the final gives young Irish athletes a path to a U.S. college education. He cited more than 32 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry.
Storyman Studio's documentary has Sky Sports and DAZN lined up
The feature documentary follows the competition from the tryouts through Aviva Stadium to Ryan Field. Storyman Studio, whose team has been nominated for an Emmy, is producing it, with distribution led by Peter Hutton. Sky Sports will carry the film in the U.K. and DAZN internationally. U.S. and Irish distribution will be announced in the coming weeks.