Aaron Hughes: National Football Centre can help Northern Ireland create identity

Independent

26-02-2025

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.
After a wide-ranging search for a suitable site, Wednesday's announcement is a significant concrete step in realising an ambition which dates back more than a decade, to create what will be the leading football facility in the country.
'You're trying to align everything, to create your own identity, culture, your own space that you can call home,' Hughes told the PA news agency. 'When people drive through the gates, you're creating that environment that speaks for itself before a ball's even been kicked.'
Artists impressions revealed on Wednesday show four outdoor pitches and one indoor facility, but Hughes said those are purely to give a rough idea for now. Having secured a site, the next job is to work out how to best make use of the available space.
'It's got to serve different levels,' Hughes added. '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.
'They've got to feel like they're walking into a high-performance environment. But our senior players are probably going to use it the least because they're only in and out of camps. So then it has to serve your daily programmes, youth teams, and to cover all aspects of football.'
The goal is to create a joined-up approach which delivers long-term results for the game at all levels in Northern Ireland and, ultimately, in the performance of the national team.
'From having casual conversations with people at other federations, I've often asked the question, 'Can you quantify how a National Football Centre helps in terms of success?'' Hughes said.
'The answer, when you can't put a number on it, it maybe wasn't solely responsible for the success they had, it certainly played a huge, huge role in it and so I've no doubt it'll do the same for us.'
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.
'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.
'If they're coming into a squad or an environment, you want that culture and identity that they can really relate to and feel at home.
'I think it can only help when it comes to recruiting eligibility players and showcasing who we are, what we have and what we can offer them, even outside of the proposition of playing for our national teams.'