The cheapest way to watch all the football in Ireland

A good share of the football is free in Ireland: every Ireland international, most Champions League nights and a League of Ireland game every round. For every televised game of the rest, the cheapest legal set is NOW Sports, NOW Sports Extra and an LOITV pass, bought for the months with matches in them: €828.80 a year at standard prices.

What football is free to watch in Ireland?

Start here, because it’s more than the fella with the box will tell you.

• Ireland internationals: RTÉ has the men’s and women’s teams live and free. See the Ireland internationals guide.
• Champions League: Virgin Media shows live games free every match week in 2026/27, on its channels and Virgin Media Play, and RTÉ shows a Wednesday game. That arrangement runs to the end of this season, then the free share shrinks. See the Champions League guide.
• League of Ireland: Virgin Media shows one Premier Division game a round, 36 a season. RTÉ showed seven FAI Cup games in 2026, including the final, and TG4 showed 17 women’s games. the League of Ireland (official source, opens in a new tab) See the League of Ireland guide.

All of that comes through an aerial on Saorview, or the broadcasters’ free apps. Cost: nothing a month.

The Premier League is the exception. There is no free-to-air row for it in our rights records. Every live game is paid.

Who shows the Premier League, and what does it cost?

• NOW Most of it Review
  • €14.99/day pass A day pass covers one day of it.
  • €38.99/month

  Sky Sports shows most of the live Premier League games in Ireland, 2025/26 to 2028/29, including Friday and Monday nights.

• NOW Some of it Review
  • €14.99/day pass A day pass covers one day of it.
  • €33.99/month

  TNT Sports has the Saturday 12.30 slot and Premier Sports has an Ireland-only Saturday 3pm game each round.

• Sky Some of it Review
  • €34/month (12-month contract)

  TNT Sports has the Saturday 12.30 slot and Premier Sports has an Ireland-only Saturday 3pm game each round. Same channels, as a Sky add-on on a 12-month contract.

• Sky Most of it Review
  • €45/month (12-month contract)

  Sky Sports shows most of the live Premier League games in Ireland, 2025/26 to 2028/29, including Friday and Monday nights. Same channels, on a 12-month Sky contract.

Rights and prices checked 2026-09-19. Standard prices; intro offers can be lower.

Two subscriptions cover every televised game. Sky Sports has most of them. TNT Sports has the Saturday lunchtime games and Premier Sports has an Ireland-only Saturday 3pm game, and those two come as one pack in Ireland, called Sports Extra.

Through NOW, the Sports Month membership is €38.99 and the Sports Extra Month membership is €33.99, both rolling with no minimum term. A day pass for either is €14.99. The Premier League guide has the detail on which slots are where.

What about the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League?

• Free-to-air Most of it Review
  • Free

  Virgin Media shows live Champions League games free every match week, and RTÉ shows a Wednesday game, to the end of 2026/27. From 2027/28 the free share is RTÉ's Wednesday pick and the final.

• Prime Video Some of it Review
  • €6.99/month

  Prime Video shows a top Tuesday game, co-exclusively in Ireland, this season and again from 2027/28 to 2030/31.

• NOW Most of it Review
  • €14.99/day pass A day pass covers one day of it.
  • €33.99/month

  Premier Sports has first pick on Tuesday nights and shows the Europa League and Conference League; TNT Sports carries the Champions League in Ireland too.

• Sky Most of it Review
  • €34/month (12-month contract)

  Premier Sports has first pick on Tuesday nights and shows the Europa League and Conference League; TNT Sports carries the Champions League in Ireland too. Same channels, as a Sky add-on on a 12-month contract.

Rights and prices checked 2026-09-19. Standard prices; intro offers can be lower.

If the free games are enough, you are finished. Most nights they will be.

The paid part is the same Sports Extra pack you may already have for the Premier League. In our rights data, Premier Sports has first pick on Tuesday nights and shows the Europa League and Conference League, and TNT Sports carries the Champions League in Ireland too. Premier Sports’ European football page (official source, opens in a new tab)

Prime Video also shows a top Tuesday game in Ireland, at €6.99 a month. It is co-exclusive, so it is not a game you can only get there. We have left it out of the sums.

What do you need for the League of Ireland?

• Free-to-air Some of it Review
  • Free

  Virgin Media shows one Premier Division game a round free, 36 a season, to 2028; RTÉ has seven FAI Cup games including the final; TG4 has 17 women's games.

• LOITV All of it Review
  • €10.99/day pass Same games, 24 hours at a time.
  • €14.99/month Same games, month by month with no commitment.
  • €99/year Every Men's Premier Division, First Division and Women's Premier Division game, 550+ a season, except the ones on Virgin Media, RTÉ or TG4 that night.

Rights and prices checked 2026-09-19. Standard prices; intro offers can be lower.

LOITV. The Annual Pass is €99 for the year, and covers the Men’s Premier and First Divisions and the Women’s Premier Division, except the game being shown on television that night. The flexible monthly pass is €14.99. The league runs February to the end of October, so nine monthly payments come to 9 × €14.99 = €134.91. The annual pass wins by €35.91. The 2026 season finished on 30 October, so there is nothing to buy until the new season starts. LOITV’s passes (official source, opens in a new tab)

What do you need each month?

The months below come from our competition calendar: Premier League August to May, European football September to early June, League of Ireland February to November, Ireland in the international windows.

The LOITV Annual Pass is one payment, so it simply sits there all year. The two NOW memberships are the ones to cancel when the Premier League ends in May. For who shows the Champions League final in early June, see the Champions League guide; a Sports Extra Day membership at €14.99 is the fallback for any single night.

What does a whole year of football cost?

Standard prices from our data, checked on 10 November 2026. Check the sums yourself. We did. Twice.

€828.80 over twelve months is €69.07 a month, for all of it.

The same channels on a Sky contract at standard prices: Essential TV €31, plus the Sky Sports add-on €45, plus the Sports Extra add-on €34, is €110 a month. Over the 12-month minimum term that is 12 × €110 = €1,320. Add LOITV and it is €1,419. That’s €590.20 more than the NOW route. You do get a TV package for it. You also get July.

Intro offers can beat all of this. On 19 September 2026 NOW had Sports at €20 a month and Sports Extra at €17 a month, each for 12 months, with a 12-month minimum term on the Sports offer. Taken together: 12 × €20 = €240, plus 12 × €17 = €204, plus LOITV €99, is €543 for the year. On 10 November 2026 NOW’s page showed a Sports Saver Bundle of both memberships at €27 a month on a 12-month minimum term: 12 × €27 = €324, or €423 with LOITV. The same day, the no-contract offers were €22 for Sports and €17 for Sports Extra: ten months of both is €390, or €489 with LOITV. Offers change monthly, so read the term before you take one. today’s NOW offers (official source, opens in a new tab)

How do you spend less than that?

• Follow one club, not the league. Two day passes in a month cost €29.98, less than a monthly membership. Three cost €44.97, more.
• Skip Sports Extra. Sky Sports has most of the Premier League. Dropping the rest saves €339.90.
• Use the free nights. The Champions League costs nothing most weeks this season.
• Cancel in May. Rolling memberships stop when you tell them to.

The Sky Sports price comparison sets NOW against Sky and Virgin Media in more detail. NOW runs on any of the streaming sticks we recommend.

Your own mix will differ. Maybe it’s Ireland, Rovers and the odd Sunday. The finder takes your list and gives you the cheapest legal way to watch it, month by month. All the football for €69 a month, or most of it for nothing. Legally. Imagine.