World Cup wipeout
Why Windsor and new Casement can’t be part of 2030 tournament bid
NORTHERN Ireland stadiums will miss out on World Cup matches if the Home Nations bid to host the 2030 Finals is successful.
Windsor Park and the new Casement Park when it is completed will fall short of Fifa criteria, ruling them out of a significant role in the world’s biggest sporting showpiece.
The Irish FA are firmly behind the bid to ‘have a World Cup on our doorstep’ and the Northern Ireland input could be focused around a possible training centre in any 2030 tournament.
Windsor Park’s capacity of 18,500 does not meet the attendance criteria, which is usually 40,000 for World Cup matches.
Casement Park, the upgrade of which has been delayed for years due to protests by local residents, will deliver a state-of-the-art design and include an iconic bowl structure with a 34,578 capacity, however an agreement is still to be reached on funding for the project.
It will be the biggest stadium in Northern Ireland but the
Irish FA, who were successful in securing the Super Cup Final for Windsor Park in August, privately accept that it won’t be in the running to host World Cup matches.
The Home Nations bid from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is up against a joint effort from Spain and Portugal for the right to be Uefa’s representative for the 2030 World Cup.
The five football associations said in their statement that they would continue to undertake feasibility work to assess the viability of a bid before Fifa, world football’s governing body, formally opens the process for bids next year.
Northern Ireland legend Pat Jennings, who played in the 1982 and 1986 World Cup Finals, said: “I know Fifa have rules around attendances, and that’s a problem, but I think Windsor is a great venue and I’m sure it can host games involving countries where perhaps a huge number of their fans will not be travelling,” said Jennings.
Jennings added: “As well as training venues, I think Windsor could host matches, and its current attendance of just over 18,000 is a healthy one.
“We have witnessed so many brilliant atmospheres there over the years and we have the Super Cup Final in August which is another big occasion.
“I think Windsor is a first class venue even though it doesn’t hold 40,000. Does every match need that attendance? You don’t want two teams playing in a 60,000 capacity stadium which isn’t full.
“You’ll have the best players in the world involved and it’s only fair the fans get to see them.”
During the last World Cup Finals in Russia, the Kaliningrad Stadium (35,212) and Ekaterinburg Arena (35,696) were both under 40,000, but it’s understood the venues were given special dispensation by Fifa, especially as the Ekaterinburg Arena was planned at over 40,000 but saw its capacity reduced nearer completion.
Irish FA chief executive Patrick
Nelson, meanwhile, has welcomed the £6.5m which has been awarded to football through the NI Executive’s Sports Sustainability Fund.
Northern Ireland sporting bodies have been granted the first £10m as part of the fund designed to support bodies and clubs who have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sport NI says that a further £15m is still to be awarded to successful applicants, which will be distributed before March 31.
“I want to place on record our thanks to the Department for
Communities and Sport NI, with whom we have worked closely over the last few months to secure this funding,” said Nelson.
“We have liaised with our clubs and leagues to ensure their applications are robust and properly planned with the relevant paperwork and documentation to accompany them.
“We set up a small internal task force before Christmas to help do this, holding webinars and communicating regularly on our own channels and directly with those who were making applications.”