The Carling Nations Cup will kick off on Tuesday, February 8 2011.

The Carling Nations Cup will be the first senior international tournament hosted in Ireland. The competition will be played in a league format with six matches between the four neighbouring teams.  

Tickets for the Carling Nations Cup will go on sale in November.

Giovanni Trapattoni, Republic of Ireland manager said: “The Carling Nations Cup is a tournament that we would very much like to win, particularly playing at home in Dublin, but speaking to my colleagues from Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland,  I know we are not alone in wanting to claim the trophy.  The matches will provide us with a good opportunity to see our players in games with a real competitive edge at an important time in our bid to qualify for  2012.”

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington said: “I am really looking forward to the Carling Nations Cup, as competitive games against our neighbouring countries don’t come around too often. There are bragging rights at stake here, not only for the fans but also for the players as no-one will want to lose against their closest rivals. Northern Ireland are more than capable of winning this tournament and we hope to get off to a good start against Scotland in February.”

Craig Levein, Scotland national team manager, said: “Now that the schedule has been announced we are really looking forward to our visit to Dublin next year. This exciting new competition brings together four groups of passionate fans and also allows me to test my squad, in a competitive environment, in the middle of our UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying campaign."

Jonathan Ford, Chief Executive, FAW said: “It will be fantastic to see these games taking place. We can all remember great matches in the past in the Home Internationals, Championship qualifiers and friendlies. I am sure they will be a huge success and we look forward to generating competitive matches but maintaining the friendly rivalry that exists between our respective countries."

Fixtures:
Tuesday February 8  Republic of Ireland v Wales.
Wednesday February 9  Northern Ireland v Scotland.

The final dates of the May matches of the Carling Nations Cup have also been revised under a new schedule agreed between the four competing Associations and the broadcast partners as follows: