BBC Sport NI will show home Northern Ireland senior women’s internationals until 2026 in a new five-year broadcast agreement with the Irish FA.
The agreement will see every home game for Kenny Shiels’ side live streamed on BBC iPlayer, while Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifying match against England on Friday, 8 April 2022 will also be shown live across the UK on BBC TV.
The agreement builds on the existing partnership between BBC Sport NI and the Irish FA which saw BBC Northern Ireland broadcast the Northern Ireland’s senior women’s international team’s historic qualification for UEFA Women’s EURO 2022.
The tournament will be staged in England next summer and will be shown live across the BBC. The draw for UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 takes place on Thursday 28 October and will be broadcast live on BBC One from 4:30pm.
Ahead of the draw, BBC Sport NI will live-stream Northern Ireland’s FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier against Austria on the evening of Tuesday, 26 October, kicking off at 7pm.
Thomas Kane is on commentary with former Northern Ireland international Gail Redmond providing analysis, while Nicola McCarthy will be bring all the pre-match news and post-match reaction across TV, radio and online.
Commenting on the new long-term deal, Neil Brittain, Executive Editor of BBC Sport NI, said:
“This is a really exciting time to be extending our partnership with the Northern Ireland women’s international team. With the EUROs just a few months away and a strong start to World Cup qualification already achieved, this is a group of players that is bringing pride to football fans across Northern Ireland.
“We look forward to bringing these matches free to audiences and to telling the story of this team next summer and for the next five years.”
This new deal adds to BBC Sport NI’s live rights portfolio which includes The Ulster Senior Football Championship, United Rugby Championship, NIFL Premiership, Irish Cup, North-West 200, Ulster Ladies Senior Football Championship, Ulster Women’s interprovincial rugby matches, Larne Half-Marathon, Schools’ sport and SuperCup NI.
Irish FA chief executive, Patrick Nelson, added:
“There has never been a better time to be involved in women and girls football in this country and we’re delighted that the BBC are coming on this journey with us. More live games means more visibility for the players and this will help the game, like our brilliant senior women’s team, continue to go from strength to strength.”
For a full list of all forthcoming major football matches on the box, visit SOTB’s dedicated football TV listings page.
