FAI CEO says Northern Ireland will not have a back-route option to qualify for Euro 2028 due to Casement Park being axed

The Province was earmarked to host games at Casement Park but the UK Government pulled out of funding for the project after it announced that it would not bridge a funding gap to deliver the redevelopment in time.

It said the risk to the public purse of missing the tournament deadline was too high.

The tournament is being held across the UK and Ireland and it is believed that all the co-hosts will compete in qualifying, with two spots left behind for nations who do not qualify on merit. However, this is yet to be confirmed by UEFA.

In a media briefing on Tuesday, FAI CEO David Courell said Northern Ireland are ruled out of this extra opportunity to qualify due to Casement Park not being able to host games.

This means Northern Ireland will have to qualify automatically if they are to compete at the tournament.

Courell said: "To be clear Northern Ireland won't qualify for an automatic slot if they are not a host nation.

"We are having conversations with Uefa but the working assumption is all of us [the UK and Ireland host nations] will go through qualification and if we are unsuccessful in qualifying on merit, then there will be automatic slots in reserve - but that has yet to be ratified by Uefa."

The Aviva stadium in Dublin, the home of Ireland’s international football team, is already set to host six games.

Courell acknowledged that he would like to see Northern Ireland play some part in the tournament.

He added: "The reality is, while they may not be hosting, we still absolutely want them to feature in this tournament, and we're in deep conversations with UEFA about what shape and form that will take, whether or not they can host training facilities or events or anything of that nature."

In a brief response, an Irish FA spokesperson said “the position relayed in the FAI briefing is correct.”