Gordon Lyons insists NI Football Fund 'based on need, not on geography' after Irish League clubs left frustrated
Gordon Lyons insists the Department for Communities had a scoring matrix “based on need, not on geography” after a number of clubs were left frustrated having missed out on a slice of money available through the Northern Ireland Football Fund.
Fourteen years on from funds first being pledged to Irish League clubs, Lyons announced on Thursday in Belfast the 20 successful cases which have progressed to the next stage of due diligence checks.
The 20 clubs, which are separated into three tiers, range from Cliftonville and Glentoran, who set to receive more than £6million, to five in line to get under £1.5million and 13 with projects estimated to cost between £1.5million and £6million.
A combined cost of the total projects is understood to be around £82million – a figure which is well above the £36.2million currently pledged – but Lyons is hoping to secure further funding.
One major talking point coming from the announcement was three North West-based clubs – Coleraine, Derry City and Institute – all missing out on securing crucial funds at this stage.
Institute currently play their home games at the Brandywell, which is the base of League of Ireland outfit Derry City, and have been without their own permanent ground since the Riverside Stadium was put out of action in 2017 through extreme flooding.
Their omission has left many in the North West area particularly furious, and while Lyons understands the disappointment, he insists it was a fair and transparent process.
“It is (a big hit), I understand that,” he said. “We did not have a scoring based on geography, this was based on need, and this was based on the impact that it was going to have in the community.
"I understand there will be frustration, I understand there may be some anger about this as well, but we had to treat everybody fairly, we had to put it through the same process, and I can assure you that the disappointment and frustration with those clubs in other parts of the country will just be the same as it will be in the North West.
"But again, my message is, it's not no, it's simply not yet, let's do everything that we can to make sure we can get people where they need to be, and that's why I will be allocating staff to those clubs to talk to them, to tell them about the next steps and where we need to go from here.”
Alongside the dedicated NI Football Fund, Lyons could also opt to dedicate money from his capital budget towards Irish League projects while clubs will also put money into the pot themselves.
“Ultimately for me, I look at everything that I do through the prism of what is going to make an impact and the most positive difference in the lives of people,” he added. “I can look at the entirety of my budget, and it might be that I want to put more of my capital budget into the Football Fund because there are so many positive benefits for not just football as a sport, but for the local community as well that can flow from that.
"I believe this money can be so transformational."