NEW BOY DIAZ LIGHTS UP CITY
Delaney confident on U21 bid
UEFA chiefs are favourable to the ‘uniqueness’ of an all-Ireland bid to stage the 2023 European Under 21 Championships. FAI chief John Delaney, a member of the UEFA executive, revealed yesterday he ‘tested it’ [the bid] with people in UEFA to see what they would think. ‘There’s absolute no doubt that uniting the two associations on one island, given the Brexit context and all that goes on with that, [the bid] certainly has a uniqueness,’ said Delaney. ‘It’s up to us now to ensure it’s a high standard bid,’ he added. After IFA president David Martin reached across the border to Delaney last summer about a joint submission, Delaney agreed the final should be played in Windsor Park ‘as
a goodwill gesture’ should the bid succeed. It helps the FAI-IFA that Europe’s hierarchy are set to ratify an expansion of the U21 Championships from 12 teams to 16 when they meet in Dublin next month. That will make it easier for UEFA to award automatic qualification for co-hosts. Neither the Republic of Ireland nor Northern Ireland has reached the U21 finals before. The decision to get ‘out of the blocks early’, as Delaney put it, is an indication of confidence in Belfast and Dublin and also an intent to blow away any possible rivals. ‘Neither of us could do it alone. It makes sense to co-host,’ said IFA president Martin. The bid is likely to submit eight venues, five in the Republic — Aviva Stadium, Thomond Park, Tallaght Stadium, Dalymount Park and Turner’s Cross — and three in the North — Windsor Park, Kingspan Stadium in Ravenhill, and Ballymena Showgrounds. A redeveloped Dalymount would be below the stipulated 8,000 capacity for U21 finals but Delaney insisted the historic stadium was ‘fundamental to it [the bid]’ and pointed out that San Marino had received a dispensation from UEFA for the 2019 finals next summer. A successful bid would be worth a projected €20m to the economy with 100,000 bed nights required to cater for travelling fans. For the 2017 Euro U21 finals in Poland, the total attendance was 244,000 with a match average of 12,000. The North’s U21 manager Ian Baraclough was present in Windsor Park yesterday after signing a two-year contract extension to cover the 2021 European Championships. But there is uncertainty over Noel King’s position as Ireland U21 manager after eight and a half years in charge. Asked about King’s future, Delaney said, ‘We’ll deal with that next week.’ When asked by Sportsmail had he put his arm around Ireland senior manager Martin O’Neill and told him he had his full support, he smiled and said, ‘that’s not for today.’ Behind the scenes, the FAI and IFA are part of a feasibility study, driven by the English FA, to submit a bid to co-host the 2030 World Cup finals. Should that bid ultimately succeed, Belfast would look to stage the qualification draw in the summer of 2027, and the IFA would host teams who qualify for the finals. The IFA accepts they have no suitable World Cup stadium, unlike the FAI, which has the 51,000-capacity Aviva Stadium and may also seek access to Croke Park.