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About Padel Federation Ireland

The national federation working to develop, regulate, and promote padel across Ireland.

About PFI

A federation built to grow padel with access, standards, and opportunity.

Padel Federation Ireland is a not-for-profit national federation supporting the growth and organisation of padel in Ireland. Its work connects players, clubs, coaches, officials, volunteers, partners, and public bodies through clear information, development pathways, competition structures, and routes into the sport.

2010PFI established as the national federation structure for padel in Ireland.
2011The first PFI court was brought to the Dublin Mountains, followed by early courts in Cavan and Portmarnock.
2026Padel has grown towards almost 300 courts, supported by clubs, coaches, volunteers, players, and local communities.

From one court to a national sport

PFI was founded by Joe Cabello, a sports teacher from Spain who moved to Ireland as a university student, trained at University College Galway, and later taught in Rathfarnham. With five other school teachers, he set out to introduce and develop padel in Ireland at a time when there were no padel courts in the country.

In 2012, Joe Cabello and his brother helped bring the first padel court to the Dublin Mountains. From that starting point, the sport has grown through the effort of clubs, venues, coaches, volunteers, players, partners, and communities across the country. Joe is Honorary President of the PFI.

Naomi Nicholl is the current President and CEO of the Padel Federation of Ireland. Involved since its early years, she has held multiple roles supporting its development. She has worked across grassroots and high-performance pathways, helping structure the sport nationally. In the initial stages, she led community-based initiatives that shaped a more accessible participation model, contributing to a blueprint for national growth. She has collaborated with FIP and other federations, contributed to policy development, and is Second Vice President of Padel Europe.

PFI timeline

The journey of padel in Ireland

From the federation's formation to international hosting, national team representation, and the rapid growth of courts across the island.

  1. Formation of the Padel Federation of Ireland.

  2. First community padel court built in a school in Dublin.

  3. First Madison Tournament.

  4. Expansion of the headquarters to Bushy Park, establishing a hub for grassroots, development, and high-performance programmes.

  5. First Irish Padel Tour.

  6. PFI signs the CARA Disability Charter. Ireland has its first away representation for the national team.

  7. PFI is affiliated as the sole national governing body to the International Padel Federation.

  8. Ireland hosts CUPRA FIP Rise, Ireland's first international ranking tournament.

  9. Ireland is selected as host country for the European qualifiers of the World Senior Padel Championships.

  10. PFI sends teams to compete with Team Ireland at the Krakow European Games.

  11. Ireland becomes a founding member of Padel Europe, and the PFI President is elected Second Vice-President of Padel Europe.

  12. 250+ padel courts on the island of Ireland.

What PFI does

PFI helps organise the structures that allow padel to grow in a clear, safe, and trusted way. The dedicated pages in this section cover the formal detail; this page keeps the overview simple.

  • Supports players, clubs, coaches, officials, volunteers, and partners.
  • Develops pathways for participation, coaching, officiating, competitions, and rankings.
  • Provides public information for clubs, events, registration, licences, safeguarding, and standards.
  • Connects Irish padel with international structures and learning opportunities.