Northern Ireland peer criticises UK Ministers for failing to secure Euro 2028 games

Lord Rogan has welcomed new legislation which the Government hopes will make it easier for the United Kingdom to host major sporting events, but criticised Ministers for failing to secure Euro 2028 games for Belfast after the Casement Park redevelopment stalled.  

Speaking in a debate on the Sporting Events Bill in the House of Lords, the former Ulster Unionist Party President said that sport had always played “a huge part in bridging divides in Northern Ireland” but the Province was being held back by a lack of world-class sporting facilities.

Referring to Euro 2028, he told peers: “Northern Ireland was due to host five games but will no longer do so after His Majesty’s Government announced that they would not be pumping many millions of pounds into the redevelopment of Casement Park, a derelict GAA stadium.

“I will not go into the details and repeat the arguments around that decision, but I must express my disappointment at the failure of Ministers to advance the case for Northern Ireland’s National Football Stadium at Windsor Park to host these games instead, despite its limited capacity.  A huge opportunity has been wasted.”

He added: “As far as I can tell, those with the power and influence to stand up for Northern Ireland on this issue have swept this under the carpet, as other venues in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland gladly accepted the gifts that they were offered.

“Windsor Park proudly hosted the 2021 UEFA Super Cup. The cup is contested by the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League and is a huge game in the global football calendar. Why therefore is Windsor Park supposedly not capable of hosting games in Euro 2028?”

Lord Rogan reminded the House that Northern Ireland had recently played host to the Giro d’Italia, and The Open Golf Championship on two occasions.

He continued: “We have also recently seen the annual North West 200 motorcycle races take place on the Triangle circuit between the towns of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart. Public funding was made available for all of these events, which was warmly welcomed, given the boost to the local economy that each provided.

“However, what links these events is that they all took place outdoors and the primary infrastructure around them was temporary, meaning that no legacy sporting facilities are left behind for local communities.”