Gordon Lyons, the minister of sports, has approved the long-awaited £36.2 million funding tranche for sub-regional stadiums. Among the expected recipients are Derry City FC and the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium in Derry.
According to Mr. Lyons, letters of offer are anticipated to be issued during this fiscal year for the initial projects to receive funding from the Northern Ireland Football Fund, which was formerly known as the Sub Regional Stadia Programme for Football.
In front of local football club representatives from all throughout the North on Wednesday, the minister made the announcement about the investment at Windsor Park.
He declared: “I’m happy to unlock this Executive commitment to modernising footballing facilities at every level in communities throughout Northern Ireland and to grant Ministerial sanction to The Northern Ireland Football Fund for the first time.
“I’m taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime chance to change the game locally. I would like to see improved facilities for players at both the performance and grassroots levels.
“I want underprivileged and underrepresented people to be more easily accessible, as supporters as well as participants. I want supporters to get the most out of their local team both today and in the future. And looking ahead, I want to establish a National Training Centre to nurture our football players of the future.
“I pledge to make the most of the £36.2 million and work to maintain the Fund with additional funding from the Executive, the football industry, and local government as a whole.”
According to Mr. Lyons, the fund would implement its three strands in stages.
The Minister went on, “I anticipate that my Department will send letters of offer to the first projects within this fiscal year, and that they will begin to spend their awards in the fiscal years 2025 and 2026. This will start a rolling programme of project delivery and awards.
“Work on a National Training Centre for Football is moving quickly. It will house top-tier training for our men’s, women’s, and youth national teams as well as develop players’ abilities at all levels of the sport. I’ll be talking about this more in the upcoming weeks.
Stormont first committed the £36.2 million in 2011.
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