Coogan & Hardwicke in ‘Saipan’ Trailer – An Irish Football Rivalry Film
by Alex Billington
October 17, 2025
Source: YouTube
“This has been shambles after shambles.” Vertigo Releasing in the UK has debuted the full official trailer for a film titled Saipan, ready for release in January in the UK. This Irish film made by filmmakers Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn tells a very Irish story about an epic sports rivalry back in 2002. Not everyone will be so familiar this story over the in US, but the film still looks like a worthwhile watch anyway. On the eve of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the Irish soccer/football team captain Roy Keane forfeits his place in the squad at the team’s base in Saipan, after a heated disagreement with the Irish manager Mick McCarthy. This is the thrilling story of their infamous confrontation and what happened next. The upcoming movie stars Éanna Hardwicke as Roy and Steve Coogan as Mick, with Alice Lowe, Jamie Beamish, Alex Murphy, and Harriet Cains. This looks damn good! Reminds me of Next Goal Wins, but much more serious and with way more creativity & ingenuity in the filmmaking. Some very cool shots in here. A little rivalry representing so many other issues. Yep I really want to watch this even though I don’t know much about this rivalry at all.
Here’s the official trailer for Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn’s film Saipan, from Vertigo’s YouTube:
You can rewatch the teaser trailer for this Saipan football rivalry film right here for the first look again.
“Choose your side.” 🇮🇪 The thrilling story of the infamous confrontation between iconic Republic of Ireland football captain Roy Keane (Éanna Hardwicke) and his national team manager Mick McCarthy (Steve Coogan) during the Irish team’s preparations for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The intense rivalry between these two personalities transcended the game, gripping an entire nation in addition to the sporting world as a whole. On the surface, the feud was all about standards, but deep down it was an incredible story of two men whose rivalry and contempt surpassed the sport they loved. This is the definitive account of one of the most fractious falling-outs in the history of sport. Saipan is co-directed by Irish filmmaking duo Lisa Barros D’Sa & Glenn Leyburn, directors of the films Cherrybomb, Good Vibrations, and Ordinary Love previously, plus episodes of the series “Obsession”. The screenplay is written by Paul Fraser. Produced by Trevor Birney, Oliver Butler, Macdara Kelleher, John Keville. Vertigo Releasing will debut Saipan in Ireland first starting on January 1st, 2026 and also in UK cinemas on January 23rd early next year. Look good?
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