STEVE COOGAN and Éanna Hardwicke will star in a new film about Ireland’s 2002 World Cup campaign.
Titled Saipan, the film tells the story of a public spat in May 2002 between the then Republic of Ireland national football team captain Roy Keane and its manager Mick McCarthy when the team was preparing in Saipan, Japan for its 2002 FIFA World Cup.
The row resulted in Keane being sent home from the squad - a move which divided public opinion.
Coogan stars as McCarthy and Cork-born Hardwicke will play Keane in the film, which will be shot on locations in Ireland and Saipan this summer.
Steve Coogan (Pic: Thomas Laisne) and Éanna Hardwick (Pic: Madeline Mulqueen) will star in Saipan“A million words have been written about what happened on that fateful week in 2002 on the tiny island of Saipan,” film producers Macdara Kelleher and John Keville said.
“Next year audiences will finally get to experience first-hand the feud between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy and why it was labelled ‘the worst preparation for a World Cup campaign ever’.
“We are so excited to have Lisa Barros D'Sa and Glenn Leyburn direct this iconic story with our equally iconic cast,” they added.
Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy pictured in 2001, ahead of their public spat in May 2002Directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn said they were “thrilled” with the choice of cast for the film, which is expected to be released for viewing in summer 2025.
“We’re thrilled to be working with this extraordinary cast and creative team to tell the story of an infamous moment in Irish and football history that drew battle lines across a nation, cast its hopes, dreams and sense of identity into disarray, and briefly made a tiny volcanic island in the Pacific one of the most famous places on earth,” they said.
Wildcard and Vertigo Releasing have acquired UK and Ireland rights on the film, which will be made in association with Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen.
“The events of Saipan divided a nation, but we are sure everyone will be united in their love for this once in a generation Irish film directed by the brilliant filmmaking team of Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa,” Wildcard and Vertigo Releasing said.
