Bernard O’Byrne vacated the role in July after he mocked the Black Lives Matter movement in a Facebook reply to a BBC News post about the foul on Raheem Sterling that led to England’s winning goal in the Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark.

Feehan spent 16 years as the CEO of the Six Nations and the British & Irish Lions, between 2002 and 2018.

The former chief of the then-Pro12 is excited to step into the role in place of O’Byrne and play a part in growing the sport in the nation.

“Yeah, I suppose there’s a multitude of things really,” Feehan said when asked about his decision to join Basketball Ireland. “I suppose the big one is the potential for growing the sport in Ireland.

“Basketball, as you are probably aware, is the fourth biggest sport in the country – it’s the biggest indoor sport in the country and to some extent, not a lot of people know that.

“And that’s sad in a way, but it’s also a great potential opportunity and also, I think commercially there’s lots of room for improvement.

“It’s going to be one of those ones where so much potential to grow the sport, not just in terms of playing numbers but in terms of levels of interest with the general public and together into the national psyche as a major sport within the country.

“So, yeah, it’s a great challenge.”

Feehan has previously been involved in sponsorship with Irish basketball “about 25 years ago” with Killester Lucozade Sport.

He is looking forward to continuing that relationship with basketball as CEO of the national governing body and promoting its diversity.

“It is so inclusive, it actually effectively allows everybody and anybody within the country to get involved in sport, and to have a natural interest in to show that you know it can work for anybody no matter what background they come from, no matter what gender they are.”

Ireland have had recent success on the international scene with their men’s and women’s teams.

The men’s team won the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries that Ireland hosted in August after four wins from four at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght.

The women’s side came second in Cyprus in July at the same tournament, being denied a first-ever FIBA Small Countries win by Luxembourg – Claire Melia earned an All-Star for her performances.

“I think every sport needs aspirational figures and aspirational teams to go for it.

“If you can’t be inspired by wanting to play for your country to play at the highest level for your country, there’s something wrong.

“Similarly, with all the top clubs, you know, We’ve got to get players below that level to want to play for those top clubs.

“So at the end of the day, the international scene has been very important – it’s your shop window in lots of respects for your sport.

“So we’ve got to make it as important as any other international, any other sport in our [country]. So we’ve got to put the program together to make that happen.”

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The announcement was made at Thursday’s launch of the 2021/22 National League season at the National Basketball Arena.

The men’s Super League and Division One will now be known as the InsureMyVan.ie Super League and InsureMyVan.ie Division One.

The women’s Super League and Division One will be named the MissQuote.ie Super League and MissQuote.ie Division One.

Basketball Ireland’s prestigious National Cup is now called the InsureMyHouse.ie Cup at all levels of the game.

The agreement with CFM will also see the company support Ireland’s national teams, as they return to FIBA EuroBasket qualification in November.

InsureMyVan.ie is to become the lead sponsor of the men’s team and MissQuote.ie are a lead sponsor of the Ireland U20 women’s team and a supporting partner of the Irish senior women’s team.

Basketball Ireland’s Commercial Manager Conor Meany welcomed the new deal. “The timing of this announcement couldn’t be better, as we head back into competitive domestic basketball for the first time in 18 months.

“It is a major endorsement of what we believe is possible in the sport and it is fantastic to have found a company that shares that vision.

“CFM Group are on a similar trajectory to us and have been growing rapidly over the past decade.

“We’re looking forward to working alongside them to grow their suite of brands and our sport over the coming years.”

Jonathan Hehir M.D. of CFM Group said: “CFM Group with market-leading brands InsureMyVan.ie, MissQuote.ie and InsureMyHouse.ie are proud to partner with Basketball Ireland, to support the growth of the most popular indoor sport in the country.

“As an Irish company employing local staff, our success is built upon a young Irish team of fully trained insurance specialists, motivated to be the best in the sector, delivering high-quality low-cost insurance to our customers.

“We are delighted to embark on this basketball sponsorship covering the National League, National Cup and international teams, supporting young men and women participating across the length and breadth of the country.”

The National League returns next week after an 18-month absence due to Covid-19 – the first fixture of the season take place on Friday 8^th October, with The Address UCC Glanmire hosting Team Garveys St. Mary’s in the Missquote.ie Super League.

DCU Mercy were the 2019/20 women’s Super League champions, their opening game is a home tie against WIT Waterford Wildcats, on October 10th.

Head coach Mark Ingle is itching to get back on the court: “We at DCU Mercy are really looking forward to the start of the women’s Super League on October 10th.

“It has been a long time trying to get back on the court, but onwards and upwards now for all involved.

“It should be a really exciting season, as I’d imagine all the players are hungry for the game as they have missed it.”

Defending men’s Super League champions Belfast Star also don’t play until Sunday 10^th October, when they host UCD Marian at De La Salle College.

Head coach Adrian Fulton is eager to begin the defence of their Insuremyvan.ie Super League title: “We are very much looking forward to getting back to the cut and thrust of the league. It’s obviously nice to be going in as defending champions, but that really counts for very little at this stage.

“Most teams will have very different playing rosters, including ourselves, and I’m sure the league will be as closely contested as in the previous few seasons, with lots of teams in with a shot at the title.

“We hope that the fans will take the opportunity to come out and support their teams and create a great atmosphere, as they have done in previous years. From my perspective, we are definitely behind in our preparation.

“I hope we can be as competitive as possible in the opening month and will try to improve as the season develops.”

The draw for the InsureMyHouse.ie Cup takes place on Tuesday 5th October – Division One clubs will learn their opponents from 1 pm, with the draw streamed live from the National Basketball Arena on Basketball Ireland’s Facebook channel.

The draw for Super League sides is live from RTÉ studios and will be broadcast on ‘Game On’ on RTÉ 2fm from 6:30 pm.

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