Former Irish FA President Jim Boyce has confessed that the failure to build a multi-sports stadium at the site of the old Maze prison still irks him.
The planned 40,000-seater arena was designed to host football, rugby and Gaelic games however the project was shelved in 2009 following objections from Northern Ireland fans and Unionist politicians.
Boyce — who presided over football’s governing body here from 1995 to 2007 — believes that if the stadium had proceeded as planned it would have solved the province’s stadium woes and allowed Northern Ireland to stage games at Euro 2028.
Appearing on this week’s edition of BelTel Football, Boyce explained: “The Maze is something which quite honestly still irks me. I felt that Northern Ireland needed a stadium that we could be proud of. I also knew that if we wanted to progress, we needed a stadium with a minimum of 30,000 capacity.
“And here we had an opportunity of having a stadium that was going to hold up to 40,000 people.
“But where I took a lot of abuse was in not having the stadium in Belfast.
“However, I had no option. The government made it abundantly clear to me on more than one occasion, the site at the Maze is the only show in town. You either go for it or it won’t happen. There was nowhere else available.”
Last year, plans to build a redeveloped Casement Park in time for Euro 2028 collapsed in a similar fashion, meaning no tournament games will be played in Northern Ireland.
‘Not building a stadium at the Maze was a massive mistake’: Ex-Fifa Vice President Jim Boyce
Boyce believes that the whole toxic debate could have been avoided if the Maze stadium was built some two decades ago. He explained: “Unfortunately politics, as happens very often in Northern Ireland, played a very big part in this.
“The DUP were totally against the Maze because of the planned reconciliation centre, which seemed to be a massive problem for them.
“But as many Northern Ireland supporters said to me, the Maze wasn’t just for one side of the community. Both sides of the community were housed in the Maze.
“It was said to me, ‘Jim, get the place built. If you can get it built, in five years’ time no one will remember the controversy’.
“But unfortunately it fell through and yes, I’m a little bit saddened that here we are 20 years later and we have moved no further on.”
On the BelTel Football podcast, the former Fifa vice-president also criticised the current Irish FA hierarchy for not engaging with the media on a regular basis.
In his day as President, Boyce was a regular presence in the press.
He said: “I believe that the press had a job to do and if you’re a leader, you have to at least give honest views on honest subjects.
“Not necessarily everyone agreed with what I said. But I felt that it was right for me to publicly state it openly and honestly.
“I do feel currently there are some people at the Irish Football Association who I think should come out more and be upfront with the public. I wouldn’t have lasted a month under the current situation.”