THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND women’s national team broke more than one record in their trouncing of Georgia at Tallaght Stadium last night.
An 11-0 win was the biggest competitive victory ever registered by an Irish men’s or women’s senior international team, and it attracted a record television audience for a women’s international on RTÉ.
An average of 209,000 viewers tuned in, which was 18% of those watching TV at the time. Numbers peaked at 340,000 towards the end of the game, as Ireland chased their record.
There were an additional 10,100 streams of the game on the RTÉ Player.
The victory puts Ireland in second place in their World Cup qualifying group, which would earn them a play-off should they stay there. They are a point clear of Finland, second seeds in the group and their prime rivals for the runners-up spot.
Ireland’s next qualifier is away to leaders Sweden on 12 April next year, followed by a rescheduled qua
“On a historic night on the pitch the audience at home showed yet again the desire to see this group progress to an even bigger stage”, said RTÉ’s Group Head of Sport, Declan McBennett. “We are delighted to be able to showcase such sporting professionals and positive role models to all age groups and look forward to the Sweden game in April.”
The men’s FAI Cup final on Sunday, meanwhile, attracted an increase in audience on previous years.
Average viewers were 131,500, which peaked at 310,700 ahead of the penalty shoot-out. It attracted an audience share of 14%, described by industry sources as “healthy.”
The 2020 final – staged behind closed doors – 121,400 viewers while the 2019 final averaged 129,00 viewers. That final also went to a shootout, and peaked at 291,000 viewers.
