Researchers at South East Technological University (SETU) have been awarded the prestigious Health Research Board (HRB) Applied Partnership Award to advance a groundbreaking community-based preventative health initiative for men in Ireland
"This award reflects SETU’s strength in applied research and our commitment to working with communities to address real-world challenges. The Football Cooperative initiative demonstrates how research can directly improve health outcomes, and SETU is proud to play a leading role in its national expansion."
Prof. Marie Claire Van Hout, SETU VP for Research, Innovation and Impact
Improving men's health outcomes
This €200,000 award represents a significant milestone for SETU, as it is the university’s first major funding award of its kind from the HRB. The funding supports SETU’s research collaboration with Football Cooperative (FC), a social enterprise using informal ‘pick-up football’ to bring men together and improve health outcomes. Following an initial study that demonstrated a €17.60 social return for every €1 invested, SETU researchers have developed a strategy to expand FC from two sites to up to 60 locations across Ireland by 2027.
Launch event
To mark this milestone, SETU will host a launch event on Thursday 6 March 2025 at 11am in the Health Sciences building at SETU's Cork Road campus. The event will bring together researchers, policymakers, and community partners to discuss the impact of the initiative and its national expansion.
The HRB award will enable the expansion of the research team, including a Post-Doctoral Researcher and Research Assistant, who will support two PhD students in evaluating the impact of FC’s national rollout.
Prof Michael Harrison, Head of the Department of Sport & Exercise Science at SETU, highlighted the significance of the funding:
"The success of this research team in securing the HRB Applied Partnership Award underscores the role SETU plays in advancing public health through research and collaboration. Health, wellbeing, sport, and physical activity are core research strengths at SETU, and this initiative will deliver real impact across Ireland."
Bridging the research/practice gap
Dr Paula Carroll, Principal Investigator, emphasised the importance of evidence-based implementation:
"This funding allows us to bridge the research-practice gap, ensuring that the FC initiative is delivered sustainably and equitably, maximising its benefits for men’s health at a population level."
The FC initiative is also set to expand into football-based rehabilitation for men recovering from prostate cancer, starting in the south-east before scaling nationally.
Impactful health research
Prof Marie Claire Van Hout, Vice President for Research, Innovation and Impact at SETU, welcomed the funding as a significant step in SETU’s commitment to impactful health research.
"This award reflects SETU’s strength in applied research and our commitment to working with communities to address real-world challenges. The Football Cooperative initiative demonstrates how research can directly improve health outcomes, and SETU is proud to play a leading role in its national expansion."
For more information on the Football Cooperative social enterprise, please visit https://footballcooperative.ie/
