Irish FA CEO provides 'conservative estimate' of £120million required to give football 'the facilities they deserve'
Irish FA CEO Patrick Nelson has revealed a “conservative estimate” is that football clubs in Northern Ireland will require at least £120million to deliver “the facilities they deserve”.
Having initially been promised £36.2million through the Sub-Regional Stadia Programme announced in 2011 – money which was ultimately never delivered – Communities Minister Gordon Lyons launched the Northern Ireland Football Fund (TNIFF) in January.
Irish League clubs have submitted their bids to earn a slice of the funds, which still stands at the same amount despite significant delays, as they aim to upgrade infrastructure and it’s expected recipients will be revealed in the near future.
There’s a widespread understanding that the original £36.2million won’t be anywhere near enough to satisfy the needs of all clubs in Northern Ireland with the TNIFF consisting of three strands – Performance Programme, Grassroots Facilities Programme and the creation of a National Training Centre, which will be based at Galgorm.
The Irish FA held their AGM in Limavady earlier this week and Nelson insists it has to be only the start of much-needed investment into facilities.
"The Minister for Communities announced that he was ready to kick off the Northern Ireland Football Fund, with the long awaited £36.2million available to bid for,” said Nelson. “This can only be the first step in a longer campaign of modernisation of our football estate.
"Our conservative estimate is that we need at least £120million (and more with the passage of time) to give the footballing public of our country the facilities they deserve.”
Nelson also stated his disappointment that Northern Ireland won’t be hosting fixtures at the 2028 European Championships after a funding gap in the redevelopment of Casement Park, labelling it as an “opportunity missed”.
"We were disappointed that, in the end, funding had not been finalised for the development of Casement Park in time for it to be ready for UEFA EURO 2028,” he added. “Although we will become a shareholder in the tournament delivery company along with our other bidding partners, the people of Belfast and Northern Ireland will not now see the world’s third largest sports event taking place on our doorstep.
"This is an opportunity missed which will only be fully appreciated in years to come.”