Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IFA chief upbeat on Euros bid
IFA chiefs insist the joint Irish bid to host the 2023 Under-21 Euros won’t fall apart because of the John Delaney scandal.
Patrick Nelson was in Dublin yesterday for the launch of the Unite the Nations Champions Cup which will see Linfield face the yet to be crowned League of Ireland champions.
The IFA chief executive said last night: “We work with organisations, not individuals.”
Delaney, the under-fire former FAI CEO, was sideby-side with Nelson at Windsor Park in November when launching the bid.
And Nelson had cited Delaney’s role on UEFA’S powerful executive committee as a reason to be confident of getting the bid over the line. But asked yesterday if he had sympathy with his former counterpart’s current situation, Nelson refused to answer directly.
After a lengthy pause, the IFA chief said: “I’m not talking about individuals, we’re working with the FAI and looking forward to working with the FAI.
“I haven’t spoken to
John for a while.
“We’re confident that between us we can put together a compelling bid that brings lots of benefits to the island of Ireland.
“We’re looking forward to working with the hierarchy there and we’ll put a good bid together.”
Nelson added: “UEFA are one of the best tournament organisers around. It’s a win-win if we can pull it off.
“In conjunction with the FAI, we’re committed to putting together the best bid. We’re looking forward to the process and cracking on with the full bid.”