Crusaders and Derry City legal challenge to football fund cash exclusion to go ahead in May
Two soccer clubs have secured a hearing date in their joint legal action over being excluded from the multi-million pound Northern Ireland Football Fund.
Crusaders and Derry City are seeking to judicially review the Department for Communities following their omission from stage two of the investment programme.
Lawyers representing both clubs claim the decision was irrational, procedurally unfair and in breach of a policy to deal with funding bids.
A High Court judge today listed the legal challenges for a full hearing in May.
Aimed at improving stadiums and infrastructure across Northern Ireland, the Stormont Executive allocated an initial £36.2m budget to the Football Fund.
Out of 41 clubs eligible to apply, a total of 38 bids were submitted during the first phase of the process.
Three tiers of potential funding were available based on the scale of projects.
In September last year Communities Minister Gordon Lyons announced that 20 clubs from across Northern Ireland had been successful in reaching the next stage.
North Belfast side Crusaders, who compete in the Irish Premiership, and League of Ireland outfit Derry City, both missed out completely.
Both clubs are now set to argue that the process was unlawful.
Papers lodged as part of the joint challenge claim the decision not to progress with their applications for funding breached a performance programme guidance document for the Football Fund.
Under the guidance a specialist sectoral panel of experts was to be involved in the consideration of bids once they had been scored and ranked, it is contended.
Crusaders and Derry City allege that rather than playing a key advisory role, the sectoral panel was never convened by the Minister.
That decision, taken after the application process had closed, potentially prejudiced the clubs who had prepared bids on the basis an expert panel would be involved, according to their case.
It is further claimed the Department acted irrationally by failing to adopt a fair scoring process.
The two clubs are seeking an order to have the funding decisions quashed.
During a brief preliminary hearing today the Department’s barrister, Philip McAteer, indicated correspondence has now been sent to Crusaders and Derry City setting out the next stages in the process.
Counsel for both clubs, Stephen Toal KC, agreed that the case should advance to a full application for judicial review.
Confirming the case will go ahead in May, Mr Justice Fowler set aside two days for the hearing.