The verdict in three sentences
A custom licensing platform for a federation with 450 clubs and 60,000 members costs roughly EUR 90,000 to 190,000 excluding VAT in Dublin in 2026, plus EUR 30,000 to 60,000 if you add competition management. Plan 5 to 7 months and go live before the season opens, because the September peak (about 20,000 registrations in three weeks) punishes late launches. The payback comes from volunteer and staff hours saved in clubs and at headquarters, and from online card payments that replace cheques and bank transfers to reconcile.
What the platform must cover
The chief executive of an Irish national governing body typically juggles three flows: membership registration (form, photo, ID, Garda vetting status for coaches), medical or concussion clearances for certain categories, and player transfers between clubs, which are often disputed. The platform brings these into two portals: a club portal, where the club secretary registers or approves members and pays in bulk, and a member portal, where players or parents complete their profile, upload documents and download a digital membership card with QR code.
| Module | Key functions | Indicative budget 2026 (EUR ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Member portal | Profile, documents, clearances, QR card | 18,000 to 36,000 |
| Club portal | Bulk registration, approvals, rosters, group payment | 20,000 to 40,000 |
| Federation back office | Document checks, provincial branches, reporting | 16,000 to 34,000 |
| Transfers | Request, releasing club consent, deadlines, fees | 10,000 to 24,000 |
| Payments (Stripe or acquirer) | Cards, Apple Pay, receipts, auto reconciliation | 8,000 to 18,000 |
| Infrastructure and scaling | Load tests, caching, background job queue | 12,000 to 24,000 |
| Acceptance, training, docs | Training 450 club secretaries, video guides | 6,000 to 14,000 |
These are 2026 ballpark figures for an Irish or nearshore development team. The low end means one sport, no competitions; the high end means several age grades, provincial bodies approving at a second level, and complex transfer rules.
Custom build versus sports SaaS
Dublin federations can buy off-the-shelf platforms. They work well for standard clubs, less so for federations with their own rules.
| Criterion | Sports SaaS (2026 order of magnitude) | Custom platform |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | EUR 0 to 15,000 setup | EUR 90,000 to 190,000 |
| Running cost | EUR 1 to 3 per member per year, often plus 2 to 4 % on payments | EUR 500 to 2,000 hosting per month |
| 5-year cost at 60,000 members | EUR 300,000 to 900,000 + payment fees | EUR 120,000 to 310,000 incl. maintenance |
| Custom transfer rules | Limited, workarounds | Built to your bye-laws |
| Data ownership | Hosted by vendor | Your GDPR controller setup |
| September peak | Shared infrastructure | Dedicated autoscaling |
At 60,000 members, the five-year maths usually favours custom. Below 10,000 members, SaaS is usually the smarter buy.
Absorbing the September peak
Expect 1,200 to 2,000 registrations per day in the final week, 300 to 500 card payments per hour at peak, and around 3 GB of uploads per day. Three choices prevent outages: separate object storage for files, a background queue that generates PDF cards, and autoscaling infrastructure that grows for the critical month and shrinks afterwards. Hosting moves from about EUR 500 a month off-season to EUR 1,500 to 2,000 in September. Run a load test at 2,000 concurrent users before go-live. Start in February at the latest: 4 to 6 weeks of scoping, 12 to 16 weeks of build, 4 weeks of pilot with 10 clubs, 2 weeks of training. See our custom web applications page for how we scope this.
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Aoife, CEO of a national federation in Dublin, estimates that each paper or spreadsheet registration takes 25 minutes at club level and 15 minutes at headquarters: 40 minutes in total. Across 60,000 members, that is 40,000 hours per season. With the platform, club entry drops to 8 minutes and HQ checks to 4 minutes: 12,000 hours. Savings: 28,000 hours. Valued at EUR 18 per hour (a blended rate for paid admin and volunteer time), that is EUR 504,000 per season. Against a EUR 150,000 build and EUR 12,000 of annual hosting, the platform pays back within the first season.
FAQ
How long does payment integration take?
With Stripe or an Irish acquirer, 2 to 4 weeks including testing. European card fees typically sit around 1.5 % plus EUR 0.25 per transaction, cheaper than many SaaS payment surcharges.
Do we need a native mobile app?
Rarely. A responsive web app covers about 90 % of member use. A native app adds EUR 30,000 to 60,000 with little gain on registrations.
How are medical clearances protected?
They are health data under GDPR Article 9: restricted access, encryption at rest and an access log. A data protection impact assessment is expected by the Data Protection Commission.
Can we migrate existing members?
Yes, migration from spreadsheets or an old database takes 2 to 4 weeks. Expect 5 to 10 % duplicates to clean across 60,000 records.
What does it cost after launch?
Hosting runs EUR 500 to 2,000 per month depending on the season. Ongoing development is usually 15 to 20 % of the initial budget per year.
Let's scope your project. Send us your registration bye-laws and club count and we will map the modules, the transfer workflow and a timeline that lands before your season opens. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
