Newstalk has today revealed that Off The Ball is welcoming a new co-presenter - former Ireland international soccer star Kevin Kilbane.
He will join Joe Molloy and Ger Gilroy in studio weeknights and will also be in the Premier League commentary box alongside Nathan Murphy and Dave McIntyre at the weekends.
Kilbane will kick off his new role tomorrow with a special broadcast live from Copper Face Jacks to launch Off The Ball's Premier League coverage.
As a much sought-after football pundit in Ireland and the UK, Kilbane will also be bringing his expert knowledge and opinion online at Newstalk.com.
He's landed! Delighted to announce @kdkilbane77 as the new member of #TeamOTB He's in studio with Joe now. pic.twitter.com/sE0Djrh1XG
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 9, 2016
Speaking about his new role, Kilbane said, “Firstly, I'd like to say how delighted I am to be joining Newstalk. I'd like to thank Adrian Barry and the team for giving me this opportunity. Off The Ball is a must listen for any sports fan and I hope to contribute to an already successful, well established and hugely entertaining show. Lastly, I’m looking forward to learning from the talented broadcasters and commentators that I'll be working alongside and while I'm sure we'll disagree over many topics I hope the listeners enjoy my contribution. Let's get the ball rolling!”
With over a decade in the Premier League, Kilbane's pedigree is unquestionable. Newstalk's sports editor Adrian Barry describes the new appointment as a "testament to the quality and the dedication of the team that Kevin has joined, and also testament to the ambition of the station that we could make this happen".
Barry added, "This is a game-changing appointment... We’re all hugely excited to have someone of his pedigree contributing across the seven days of Off The Ball. Kevin has been reminded however that he’s not the top Ireland caps holder on the team, Brian O’Driscoll can still call seniority when it comes to tea duties!”
Tomorrow night's launch will see Kilbane and co-anchors Ger Gilroy and Joe Molloy provide commentary and analysis of Jose Mourinho's first Premier League game in charge of Manchester United as they go head to head with Bournemouth, followed by Arsenal and Liverpool at The Emirates.
If you'd like to be there on the night, you can register for audience tickets here.
Newstalk announced earlier this year that it has agreed a three year extension to the live commentary agreement, bringing the association between Off The Ball, which is currently sponsored by Betdaq, and the Premier League into a fifteenth season by its completion.
