Football clubs set to receive news 'very soon' as Communities Minister Gordon Lyons confirms progress has been made on sub-regional stadia funding

The £36.2m project was passed by the Executive in 2011 but has been delayed due to two impasses at Stormont, leaving clubs in limbo as to whether or not they will receive vital funding to improve facilities.

Mr Lyons was at the Coleraine Showgrounds on Wednesday afternoon (May 15) to hear about the club’s redevelopment plans on the Ballycastle Road, which includes increasing the capacity to 8,000 and other amenities.

When asked if there could be a development regarding sub-regional funding on the horizon, Mr Lyons said: "You can expect news on sub-regional stadia funding very soon.

"This has been a priority for me. One of my first questions that I asked the Assembly back in 2015 was about the release of funds for sub-regional stadia.

"So this is something I've wanted to see progress for a long time and long before I came into this post.

"I've been working and the first 100 days have been done and I've been working intensely to progress this programme along with my officials.

"I hope to be in a position very soon where I can set out the next steps on how we can disperse this money to clubs across Northern Ireland to include performance clubs, grassroots and I look forward to making an announcement soon."

Mr Lyons said he wasn’t in a position to outline how the money will be allocated but it was important that the Executive adds more money to the pot to meet the demand.

He stated: "What I want to do is make sure we put the money where it's going to make the most difference and the most impact on people because look at what we have at Coleraine today.

"Loads of young people getting involved and some people who might not otherwise have got involved...we need to make sure the facilities are there, we need to make sure the facilities are there for the women's and girls' game as well.

"We have got £36.2m but I'm not content with that. It doesn't come anywhere close to what we need and I will be looking for additional funding and I'll be going back to the Executive about this as well.”