Sky to sponsor men's and women's Ireland teams until 2028

The Republic of Ireland men's national team has a new sponsor after a long search from the FAI.

Telecommunications company Sky is to become the primary partner of the senior team until the end of 2028.

Sky has also extended its association with the women's national team, which began in 2021.

The men's team had been without a sponsor since 2020.

The Boys in Green have their first match of 2024 against Belgium in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. It will be interim head coach John O'Shea's first game in charge.

The Manchester United legend will also take charge of the friendly against Switzerland on Tuesday, also in Dublin.

The FAI has indicated a permanent manager will be appointed in April, but suffered another blow on Tuesday as top target Lee Carsley ruled himself out of the running.

Sky Ireland chief executive JD Buckley said: “Over the past two and a half years, we have enjoyed a fantastic partnership with our Women’s National Team. We are thrilled and proud to announce the extension of that partnership and our brand-new Primary Partnership with the Men’s National Team.

“In recent years, we have seen unprecedented growth in women’s football in Ireland with multiple milestones passed by our Women’s National Team. Attendance records have been broken, television viewing figures have increased, the team played at the Aviva Stadium for the first time in front of nearly 38,000 fans and, of course, they achieved World Cup qualification for the first time ever.

“From day-one of our Women’s National Team partnership, our key ambition has been to give them a platform to inspire younger generations to play the game, stay in the game and support the game. As Primary Partner across both teams for the next four years,