CHICAGO, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Four of Ireland’s most powerful young kickers will compete for the title of Ireland’s Kicking King on Saturday, November 7, at halftime of the Northwestern-Iowa game at the new Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. Ireland’s Kicking King: The Road to Ryan Field is a nationwide search for the island’s best untapped kicking talent, open to athletes ages 16 to 24, most of whom have never kicked an American football. The final puts all four in front of an American football audience, giving them visibility as they pursue a path to play in the United States. FM, a leader in commercial property insurance, has been named the presenting partner of the competition.

PHOTO ASSETS BY TYLER WHITE, LEADER KICKING

The competition builds on a growing record of Irish kickers in American football. Athletes from Leader Kicking have earned more than $3 million in college scholarships, and more than 20 are active in Division I and the NFL. Leader Kicking alumnus Charlie Smyth made a 56-yard field goal for the New Orleans Saints on his first NFL attempt last November, a record distance for an Irish-born player.

This year, Ryan Sports Ventures, the sports investment arm of the Ryan family, the lead donor for Ryan Field, and a minority owner of the Chicago Bears and AFC Bournemouth, has partnered with Leader Kicking to build a program to raise awareness of elite kicking talent being developed in Ireland. The program includes the final at Ryan Field, a feature documentary, and a University of Notre Dame study of the biomechanics of kicking.

The road to the final began in August, when more than 1,000 athletes attended ten free tryouts across Ireland. The top 20 kicked at halftime of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic between TCU and North Carolina on August 29 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, where Patrick Gaynor made a 61-yard kick. From there, the top 10 kickers have been part of an elite training group in Dublin and will travel to Chicago, where Ireland’s Kicking King will be crowned on Ryan Field, the new $875 million home of Northwestern football that opened on October 2, 2026.

Led by presenting partner FM, Ireland’s Kicking King is also sponsored by Meta, Amazon Web Services, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

“At FM, we believe that hard work, resilience and a commitment to constant progress can help people accomplish big things,” said Randy Hodge, chief operating officer of FM. “We’re proud to support this competition and celebrate the dedication these athletes have shown on their journey to Ryan Field.”

FM is an Official Partner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the title sponsor of the FM Championship on the LPGA Tour. It is a principal partner for the men’s and women’s Boston Common Golf teams, part of TGL presented by SoFi. FM also sponsors athletes including professional golfer and Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy, a native of County Down in Northern Ireland, and two LPGA Tour stars Lottie Woad and Megan Khang.

The Ryan family backs the competition to widen access to education for young Irish athletes through college scholarships. The family also invests in sports technology through Ryan Sports Ventures and has put its portfolio and sports network behind Ireland’s Kicking King to expand the program’s reach. To support the program, Ryan Sports Ventures brought in performance technology: Playermaker foot-mounted sensors and Trackman radar tracked each athlete and every ball’s flight, and kickers wore Oakley Meta glasses that captured first-person footage on the field at Aviva Stadium. That data feeds the Notre Dame study, the first large dataset on how kicking talent is identified and developed.

“Ireland’s Kicking King gives young Irish athletes a real path to a college education in the United States,” said Rob Ryan, managing partner of Ryan Sports Ventures. “More than 32 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, and we are proud to be among them. Thanks to our partners at FM, on November 7, four Irish kickers will be showcased in front of an American football audience to show what they can do.”

Brothers Tadhg and Darragh Leader founded Leader Kicking, and Tadhg Leader previously served as the NFL’s kicking and punting coach for the International Player Pathway. The academy’s athletes have held NFL positions with the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, and Atlanta Falcons. Smyth, a teacher and Gaelic football goalkeeper from Mayobridge, had taken up American football about two years before his record kick on Nov. 30, 2025.

“Every kicker who walks out at Ryan Field started at a free tryout on a pitch somewhere in Ireland,” said Tadhg Leader, Founder of Leader Kicking. “A few months ago, most of them had never kicked an American football. On November 7, their families, their communities, and all of Ireland will be behind them. FM understands better than anyone that performance under pressure is decided long before the moment arrives, by the commitment to continuous improvement and lasting progress. That’s how they protect their clients, and it’s how these athletes have earned their place. We’re delighted to have them on board. The talent was always here; it just needed a road to follow, and all roads lead to Ryan Field.”

A feature documentary follows the competition from the tryouts to 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 will carry it internationally. U.S. and Irish distribution is being finalized and will be announced in the coming weeks.

About Leader Kicking:

Leader Kicking recruits and trains kicking talent from Ireland for American football. Founded by brothers Tadhg and Darragh Leader, the academy has helped its athletes earn more than $3 million in college scholarships and has more than 20 athletes active in Division I and the NFL. For more information, visit leaderkicking.com.

About Ryan Sports Ventures:

Ryan Sports Ventures is the sports investment arm of the Ryan family. It invests and operates across sports properties, technology, and media, and the family’s holdings include minority ownership of the Chicago Bears and AFC Bournemouth. For more information, visit ryansports.com.

About FM:

Established nearly two centuries ago, FM is a leading mutual insurance company whose capital, scientific research capability and engineering expertise are solely dedicated to property risk management and the resilience of its policyholder-owners. These owners, who share the belief that the majority of property loss is preventable, represent many of the world’s largest organizations, including one of every four Fortune 500 companies. They work with FM to better understand the hazards that can impact their business continuity to make cost-effective risk management decisions, combining property loss prevention with insurance protection.

Follow FM on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Visit our newsroom for updates on FM, and listen to our podcast, Sound Policy, on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Media Contact:
Lauren Renschler
William Raymond Communications
lauren@william-raymond.com
310-463-0863

Brian Amaral
FM
Brian.amaral@fm.com
+1 (315) 854-2675

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SOURCE Leader Kicking; FM