Irish League has already shown benefits of cash injection: Larne FC owner

Mr Bruce said he was pleased that Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey was consulting with other ministers over the release of £36m for football stadium improvements, but said legal action was still dependent on three key areas.

He explained: “We certainly feel that the minister has given some reasonable reassurances, but there are still three things that matter to me that we need answers on before we can consider whether we take any further legal advice.

“One – we need confirmation that sub-regional stadia funding remains a flagship project. Secondly, that it doesn’t need further Executive sign-off to release the initial project, and thirdly that the initial £36million is still exclusively ring-fenced for football. If we got confirmation of those three things then we would be very happy and satisfied.

“That would put us in the position we were in before the minister’s announcement.”

He added: “We have sought legal advice, they feel we have a very strong case. If we don’t get confirmation of those three points we’ll definitely be taking further legal advice.”

In terms of Irish League standards, Mr Bruce said: “At Larne we have shown – this is not a university case study, this is a real life study – that investing in football can bring a community together than can harmonise everybody, that can improve health and well-being, that can reduce crime rates, improve education. All of those things are happening in Larne because of the investment we’ve made over the last five years.

“There are other clubs who have invested in their facilities and you can see it having a direct impact – you look at Coleraine, they’ve improved their pitch, their crowds have swelled, their community engagement has improved, they’ve plans for the future.

“It’s clear across Northern Ireland football and Northern Irish sport that if you get the level of investment and support from government that they have an appetite to match fund and to volunteer their time, effort and money to have an impact on the community.

“It’s definitely happening across the Irish League, which has so much potential, as a league, as a product.”

DUP deputy leader Paula Bradley has said the u-turn by Deirdre Hargey on funding for football proves the minister had been playing politics.

She said: “The sub-regional funding affects football in every community. The Sinn Fein Minister’s attempt to play sectarian politics with it were disgraceful.

“The fund was part of the New Decade New Approach agreement. The Minister has had two years to deliver the funding. Indeed, last September she told us it was just weeks away.

“It’s time for Minister Hargey to set her Sinn Fein political games to the side and get on with her job and deliver the funding.”

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