Communities Minister Gordon Lyons insists Northern Ireland can still benefit from the 2028 European Championships with “ideas and proposals” being discussed to ensure a “legacy”.

Belfast’s Casement Park had originally been selected to host matches at the major tournament, but rising construction costs – estimated to be in the region of £300-400million – put an end to that possibility.

It means the 2028 Euros will now be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland missing out on the chance to stage games and potentially seal direct qualification to the competition.

ICC Belfast will host the qualifying draw in December – Irish FA CEO Patrick Nelson hailed the announcement as “fantastic news” with officials from the biggest nations in Europe set to visit Northern Ireland.

placeholder image — Communities Minister Gordon Lyons. (Photo by Liam McBurney/PA Wire)

However, it remains unclear how Northern Ireland will truly benefit from the competition which will take place between June 9 and July 9 2028.

Should Northern Ireland qualify, they’ll be placed in Group D and play their opening match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before moving on to Wembley and Villa Park for further fixtures.

In contrast, Scotland would play all three matches at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium will host all of Wales’ group games and Dublin’s Aviva Stadium will stage each of the Republic of Ireland’s fixtures.

England are due to play their opening match at the City of Manchester Stadium before moving on to Wembley.

Many have voiced their outrage at Northern Ireland missing out on such a huge opportunity, but Lyons says work is ongoing to ensure the country still feels a positive impact.

"Yes, absolutely, and I think that we can get a legacy from that, even though we will not be hosting games here,” he told the News Letter. “There are still other opportunities that can come from that, but the most important thing in this tournament was always going to be the legacy, so I'm working with the UK government on that.

"We're coming up with ideas and proposals about how Northern Ireland can get that legacy.

"I want to see that legacy include opportunities for more people to get involved, making sure that we have the facilities, making sure that we have the opportunities, because I think that this will create a buzz and I want to make sure that from that buzz we get something tangible, and that's what I'm determined to deliver.”

There have been plans to redevelop Casement Park since 2011 with the Executive pledging £61million towards the project at the time while the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) were to contribute £15million.

While the Irish Government has since promised £43million and the UK Government offered up another £50million last year, there still remains a significant financial shortfall.

"As I've said before, there was an agreement in 2011, that agreement stands, the money that was pledged at that time stands, it's ready to be drawn down,” said Lyons. “There have been additional pots of funding that have been brought together now, that is still short on what will be needed for Casement Park in its current iteration.

"So we need to see one of two things happen, or a combination of the two: we either need to see increased funding from the GAA, or we need to see a reduction in the size and scale of the project.

"If we can do one or either of those things, that allows a way forward to be found. But at the minute that gap is very, very large...our commitment from 2011 still stands.”

When asked if he’s speaking to the GAA about narrowing that gap, Lyons added: “Engagement goes on with officials and I'm happy to meet with the GAA to discuss further as well.”