John O'Shea announced as U17 Euro Ambassador

Earlier today, Ireland great John O’Shea was unveiled as the Tournament Ambassador for the upcoming U-17 Uefa European Championships.

The tournament, which will put a number of League of Ireland venues to use, is set to begin on May 3.

O’Shea, who is currently on the books at Reading, was speaking to fai.ie about his new role.

"I am delighted to be the Tournament Ambassador for this year’s UEFA Under-17 European Championships," said O'Shea.

"In 1998, I was lucky enough to play in the tournament, and lift the trophy in Scotland with my team-mates. It remains one of the highlights of my career.

"The opportunity to play in an international tournament on home soil is a rare one for any player, and I look forward to seeing how Colin O’Brien and his team do this May.

"Ireland will welcome another 15 countries to our shores for the tournament and it will be fantastic to see these stars of the future play in venues all around the country, including in my own home city of Waterford."

The Irish team will not know their opponents for the finals until April 5. In the mean time they have two upcoming friendlies against Finland.

These games will take place in Waterford’s RSC on March 22 and Tallaght Stadium on March 25.