Birmingham central defender Kenny Cunningham was today appointed as Republic of Ireland captain for their European Championship qualifying campaign.
The Irish kick off their bid to reach Euro 2004 in Portugal with an away tie against Russia at the Lokomotiv Stadium on Saturday.
Thirty-one-year-old Cunningham has won a total of 41 caps for his country and takes over the captaincy from Steve Staunton, who retired from international football after leading the Republic at this summer's World Cup.
