Irish FA technical director Aaron Hughes believes a National Football Centre can be a game-changer for Northern Ireland’s international fortunes after plans to build the new facility near Ballymena were unveiled on Wednesday.
The IFA has secured a 50-acre site opposite the Galgorm resort where it plans to build a “state-of-the-art, multi-million pound” campus that will serve all levels from national teams to grassroots programmes, with a goal of opening the doors for the first time in 2028.
“For our senior international players coming in from maybe some of the training grounds (in the Premier League and Championship), they’ve got to feel like they’re walking into something that is not less than what they’re used to.
“I think that’s a really key point, that with young players and some of the facilities they are used to training at, you want them to come in and feel there’s certainly not a step down or a step backwards,” he said.
And for a nation that draws so many international players through eligibility pathways, Hughes believes the new facility can prove decisive in a number of recruiting battles.
