Match of the Day from Northern Ireland
Encyclopedia
Match of the Day from Northern Ireland is the name given to coverage of football
matches involving local teams in Northern Ireland
and the Northern Ireland national football team
, produced and broadcast by BBC Northern Ireland
. It is shown on either BBC One Northern Ireland
or BBC Two Northern Ireland depending on the match and availability in the schedule, while some of Northern Ireland's international matches have also been broadcast throughout the United Kingdom
via the BBC Red Button interactive channels on Freeview and Sky Digital
.
The program first broadcast in the 1980s whenever BBC NI took over international football from UTV who used to show highlights, with the matches on BBC NI there was more Live action and highlights than before. The coverage was hosted by BBC NI sports presenters at the time including John Barrett and commentary was often done by Mark Robson. Jackie Fullerton became main commentator in 1993 whenever he moved to BBC NI from UTV with Mark Robson going in the opposite direction. Coverage declined in the 2008/2009 season with Northern Irelands home games on Sky Sports who bought the rights in 2008 and away games on Setanta Sports. That season the program has been limited to Northern Ireland highlights of all games, the Home highlights were shown on the night of the game and away highlights on the night after the game due to right restrictions. The only Northern Ireland match this season shown live on MOTD from NI was between San Marino and Northern Ireland in a 3-0 win for Northern Ireland. MOTD from NI also covers the Co-Operative Insurance Cup and JJB Sports Cup Finals live on BBC NI and the Milk Cup. The JJB Sports Cup has been shown live since 2000 and Co-Operative Insurance Cup since 2006 and the Milk Cup finals night has been shown since 2005.
For the 2009/2010 the coverage will again increase because of the collapse of Setanta Sports
. So, the remaining Northern Ireland away games against Poland and the Czech Republic were shown live on Match of the Day from NI and highlights of the last remaining home game will also be shown. As well as their existing coverage of the Milk Cup, JJB Sports Cup and Co-Operative Insurance Cup.
Match of the Day from Northern Ireland
Presenters: Stephen Watson, Mark Sidebottom, Gavin Andrews.
Ex Hosts: Jerome Quinn, Austin O'Callahan, Jackie Fullerton (When not commentating)
Commentators:
Jackie Fullerton
1993–present
Joel Taggart 2005–present
Michael Mcnamee 2005–present
Paul Gilmore 2008–present
the other three have commentated when Jackie Fullerton was unavailable or is presenting.
Co-Commentators
The current co-commentator is usually John O'Neill. Previous co- commentators or pindits to the program for Northern Ireland matches include Iain Dowie
, Billy Hamilton
and Gerry Armstrong
, Alan McDonald.
Analysts
Studio analysis for Northern Ireland matches currently comes from Michael O'Neill
and Jim Magilton
.
Guess pundits also occur for Milk Cup, Co-Operative Insurance Cup and JJB Sports Cup Finals that is famous in the local game. These include Stephen Baxter of Crusaders, David Jeffrey of Linfield, Liam Beckett, Chris Morgan and Marty Quinn. These pundits vary depending if their teams are playing or not.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
matches involving local teams in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and the Northern Ireland national football team
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
, produced and broadcast by BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland
BBC Northern Ireland is the main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland.The organisation is one of the three national regions of the BBC, together with BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. Based at Broadcasting House, Belfast, it provides television, radio, online and interactive television content...
. It is shown on either BBC One Northern Ireland
BBC One Northern Ireland
BBC One Northern Ireland is the national variation for BBC Northern Ireland of the network BBC One service broadcast by the BBC. The service is broadcast in Northern Ireland from Broadcasting House in Belfast...
or BBC Two Northern Ireland depending on the match and availability in the schedule, while some of Northern Ireland's international matches have also been broadcast throughout the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
via the BBC Red Button interactive channels on Freeview and Sky Digital
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
.
The program first broadcast in the 1980s whenever BBC NI took over international football from UTV who used to show highlights, with the matches on BBC NI there was more Live action and highlights than before. The coverage was hosted by BBC NI sports presenters at the time including John Barrett and commentary was often done by Mark Robson. Jackie Fullerton became main commentator in 1993 whenever he moved to BBC NI from UTV with Mark Robson going in the opposite direction. Coverage declined in the 2008/2009 season with Northern Irelands home games on Sky Sports who bought the rights in 2008 and away games on Setanta Sports. That season the program has been limited to Northern Ireland highlights of all games, the Home highlights were shown on the night of the game and away highlights on the night after the game due to right restrictions. The only Northern Ireland match this season shown live on MOTD from NI was between San Marino and Northern Ireland in a 3-0 win for Northern Ireland. MOTD from NI also covers the Co-Operative Insurance Cup and JJB Sports Cup Finals live on BBC NI and the Milk Cup. The JJB Sports Cup has been shown live since 2000 and Co-Operative Insurance Cup since 2006 and the Milk Cup finals night has been shown since 2005.
For the 2009/2010 the coverage will again increase because of the collapse of Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
. So, the remaining Northern Ireland away games against Poland and the Czech Republic were shown live on Match of the Day from NI and highlights of the last remaining home game will also be shown. As well as their existing coverage of the Milk Cup, JJB Sports Cup and Co-Operative Insurance Cup.
Match of the Day from Northern Ireland
Presenters: Stephen Watson, Mark Sidebottom, Gavin Andrews.
Ex Hosts: Jerome Quinn, Austin O'Callahan, Jackie Fullerton (When not commentating)
Commentators:
Jackie Fullerton
Jackie Fullerton
John Alexander "Jackie" Fullerton, MBE is a Northern Irish television presenter and journalist, who is currently a reporter and football commentator for BBC Northern Ireland.-Sporting career:...
1993–present
Joel Taggart 2005–present
Michael Mcnamee 2005–present
Paul Gilmore 2008–present
the other three have commentated when Jackie Fullerton was unavailable or is presenting.
Co-Commentators
The current co-commentator is usually John O'Neill. Previous co- commentators or pindits to the program for Northern Ireland matches include Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie
Iain Dowie is a former footballer and manager. He is currently without a club. He has previously managed Hull City and Queens Park Rangers and was assistant manager of Newcastle United...
, Billy Hamilton
Billy Hamilton (footballer)
William Robert Hamilton is a former Northern Ireland international footballer who played as a forward.At club level, Billy played for Linfield, QPR, Burnley, Oxford United, Limerick, Sligo Rovers, Coleraine and Distillery...
and Gerry Armstrong
Gerry Armstrong
Gerald "Gerry" Armstrong is a former member of the Church of Scientology and one of its most active critics. In 1980, the Church assigned Armstrong, then a member of the Church's elite Sea Org, to organize some personal papers of L. Ron Hubbard that were to serve as the basis of a new biography of...
, Alan McDonald.
Analysts
Studio analysis for Northern Ireland matches currently comes from Michael O'Neill
Michael O'Neill
Michael O'Neill may refer to:* Michael O'Neill , British academic and poet* Michael O'Neill , American actor* Michael O'Neill , American academic...
and Jim Magilton
Jim Magilton
James "Jim" Magilton is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager, who is currently employed as Football Consultant at Shamrock Rovers F.C. after being appointed on 6 July 2011....
.
Guess pundits also occur for Milk Cup, Co-Operative Insurance Cup and JJB Sports Cup Finals that is famous in the local game. These include Stephen Baxter of Crusaders, David Jeffrey of Linfield, Liam Beckett, Chris Morgan and Marty Quinn. These pundits vary depending if their teams are playing or not.