And the contract will also include live coverage of a number of domestic fixtures in the Irish Premier League.

Vic Wakeling, the Managing Director of Sky Sports, will be in Belfast this morning to announce a deal with the digital broadcasters that is understood to be in the region of a whopping £6million.

Sky beat off competition from the BBC - who have held the rights to Northern Ireland games for many years - and Irish-owned Setanta Sports to secure the deal with the IFA.

The substantial investment from Sky dwarfs the £2.5million that BBC Northern Ireland paid to cover the Euro 2008 qualifying series and it is understood that although they were prepared to offer more than double the previous figure, they couldn't compete with the huge financial clout of Sky.

The Windsor Park meeting with Denmark in November will be the last home game shown on terrestrial television for the foreseeable future.

The box office appeal of the Northern Ireland team is at an all-time high after wins against England, Spain and Sweden in the last 20 months, with the latter two helping to take the country to the top of their Euro 2008 qualifying group at the halfway stage.

Sky have taken a brave step though, with the World Cup draw not being made until December it won't be known for over seven months just how attractive the fixture package will be.

It is understood that manager Lawrie Sanchez and his players will be happy with the deal as it will give them greater exposure nationally.