NIFL CEO Gerard Lawlor welcomes NI Football Fund announcement 'with cautious optimism' and insists clubs require 'more money'

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons announced in Belfast on Thursday evening that applications for the £36.2million investment pot – which was initially pledged in 2011 – are now open for the Performance Programme strand with clubs in the men’s Irish League pyramid, Women’s Premiership and Derry City all eligible to submit their case for funding.

Lyons has himself acknowledged that the initial investment won’t be enough to cover all projects – the estimated number sits somewhere closer to £200million – and Lawlor is hoping more can be committed to help clubs build a legacy in Northern Ireland.

“We welcome today’s announcement with cautious optimism as our member clubs finally can begin an application process for much needed funds,” he said. “The Irish FA and ourselves together have lobbied long and hard for the past 14 years, so we are pleased to reach this important milestone.

“However, as we have regularly outlined, this current fund will unfortunately have nowhere near the impact as initially intended and, as the Minister himself has stated, much more is needed to have the required impact.

“In the correspondence to not develop Casement Park for Euro 2028, the Secretary of State and UK Sports Minister stated that they ‘remained committed to building a legacy for football across the whole of the UK’.

"This is their big chance as now is the time to step up and deliver.

“The NI Football Fund requires more money. The Lord Justice Taylor Report was published in 1990 and football in Northern Ireland still hasn’t received its proportion, so we strongly feel that UK Government funding is long overdue.

"We will continue to lobby and make our case to both the NI Executive and UK Government as the role and impact our member clubs play in their communities and society simply cannot be understated.”

One of the three strands outlined by Lyons includes creating a National Football Centre with the Irish FA and their president Conrad Kirkwood has also called for more money to be delivered.

“This is a positive step forward,” he added. “The Northern Ireland Executive's allocation of £36.2 million for modernising our football infrastructure is welcome.

“That said, it is long overdue and falls significantly short of the Department for Communities’ own estimated £200 million required to upgrade performance club grounds, grassroots facilities and establish a National Football Centre for Northern Ireland.

“Modern fit for purpose stadia will drive performance and raise aspirations. Moreover, better facilities generally will benefit football, and the people of Northern Ireland, for generations to come.

“And we, alongside our partners at NIFL, are dedicated to working closely with the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that our game benefits from the UK and Ireland's hosting of the UEFA Euro 2028 tournament.”