How to watch Ireland football internationals

This is the simplest guide on the site. Every Republic of Ireland international is on RTÉ, free, and has been for as long as anyone can remember. If someone tries to sell you a box to watch Ireland, ask them what exactly you would be paying for.

Who has it this season

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

  RTÉ has the men's and women's teams live and free, plus Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup.

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

RTÉ describes its portfolio as live rights to Euro 2028, the Republic of Ireland men’s and women’s national teams, and the FAI Cup. It has since added the 2030 World Cup. The women’s deal covers every match through to the 2027 Women’s World Cup, including Ireland’s games there if they qualify.

Sky Sports Ireland has no live Ireland internationals that we could find; Sky’s deal with the FAI is a sponsorship to the end of 2028. Prime Video showed a play-off on pay-per-view in the UK in 2025, not in Ireland. Virgin Media has none.

The cheapest way to watch most of it

An aerial. If you don’t have one, here’s what an aerial installation costs. RTÉ2 comes through Saorview, and RTÉ Player works on any phone, tablet or streaming stick. There is no month to subscribe in and no month to cancel in, because there is nothing to subscribe to.

The only planning is the calendar. Ireland play in the international windows: September, October and November in 2026, then March, June and the autumn again in 2027. The finder marks those months so your sports subscriptions for other things can be cancelled around them.

What’s free

All of it. The men’s Nations League games, the women’s qualifiers and play-offs, the Euro 2028 qualifiers from March 2027, and the tournaments themselves. RTÉ showed every one of the 104 games at the 2026 World Cup free, most on television and the rest on RTÉ Player, even though Ireland were not there, having lost the March play-off semi-final to Czechia on penalties in Prague.

The calendar

• Nations League, League B, Group B3, so far: lost 1-0 to Kosovo in Pristina (24 Sep), beat Israel 3-0 in Debrecen (27 Sep), drew 2-2 with Austria at the Aviva (1 Oct), and drew 1-1 with Israel behind closed doors in Serbia (4 Oct).
• The last two group games, both 7.45pm on RTÉ: Austria v Ireland, Sat 14 Nov 2026; Ireland v Kosovo, Tue 17 Nov 2026, Aviva.
• Sunday 6 December 2026: Euro 2028 qualifying draw, ICC Belfast, 5pm. Groups play March to November 2027, play-offs in March 2028.
• March 2027: Nations League promotion and relegation play-offs.
• Women: beat Kazakhstan 12-0 on aggregate in the first play-off round in October. The play-off final is against Poland, away in Gdańsk on 1 December and at the Aviva on Saturday 5 December 2026. Seven of the eight winners go straight to Brazil; the other goes to an inter-confederation play-off in February 2027. The Women’s World Cup runs 24 June to 25 July 2027; RTÉ has Ireland’s games.
• Euro 2028 finals: 9 June to 9 July 2028, in the UK and Ireland, on RTÉ.

Nothing to buy. Point the aerial at the mast and sort out the rest with the finder. If your TV has no Saorview, a cheap streaming stick runs RTÉ Player. Everything else is on the watch index.