Communities Minister Gordon Lyons hailed it as a "good day for Northern Ireland" as the Irish Football Association confirmed details of its plans to create a new state-of-the-art, multi-million pound National Football Centre.
A 50-acre site opposite the renowned Galgorm Resort and Spa, who will partner the IFA in the venture, will feature world-class pitches and cutting-edge training facilities to help realise the association’s ambition to create a project that will become the beating heart of Northern Ireland’s football community, supporting both elite and grassroots players.
This brings to an end a 15-year search for a location to proceed with the facility with approximately up to £3m of government funding understood to have been originally earmarked for the project as part of the Sub-Regional Stadia Programme.
That has now been rebranded as the Northern Ireland Football Fund and Mr Lyons reaffirmed the commitment to deliver across all strands.
"This is a good day for Northern Ireland, a good day for sport and football," he said. "We know this has been a strategic objective for the Irish FA and the Executive for many years.
"I remain committed to continuing to work in partnership with the IFA to deliver it. I think we are all aware that the game has come a long way in recent years and that's at all levels.
"I think it's right, in particular, that we note the growth of the women's game and I think we can all agree that it's been so inspiring for us to see.
"I think we all benefit from what we have seen over the last number of years. We see that team work, that dedication and that pride across Northern Ireland in all generations of players.
"We know how important the game is in Northern Ireland and it's part of our DNA. The problem is that our existing facilities have fallen behind and they no longer reflect the standards that we want to see at all levels.
"We have no National Football Centre in Northern Ireland whilst other countries enjoy modern facilities both at club and elite level.
"In recognition of that ever-growing gap, at the beginning of my term in office, I said that I would move the commitment to invest in football infrastructure forward.
"In May, I signed off on a policy framework for the Northern Ireland Football Fund. I was the first minister to do so and we cemented the commitment to work with the IFA to deliver the National Football Centre for our national teams.
"It also sets the broad parameters within which we will invest in club grounds at performance and grassroots levels.
"I was pleased to launch the first call for applications from performance clubs less than four weeks ago, but I'm also delighted that we are moving the National Training Centre objective forward and I look forward to making further announcements about grassroots."
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