Michael O’Neill has predicted that Northern Ireland teams will move to another level once the new National Training Centre (NTC) opens.
The Irish FA have pinpointed a 50-acre site opposite the Galgorm resort outside Ballymena as the elite Centre boasting “world-class pitches and cutting-edge training facilities”.
But the Association are banking on significant Government financial backing and planning permission going through.
Just under a year ago Northern Ireland boss O’Neill spoke about the importance of building the facility, adding that IFA Technical Director Aaron Hughes had been working hard on the issue.
The ultimate aim is that it will improve football in Northern Ireland for the men’s and women’s international sides at senior level and for youth teams across the board.
The men’s senior team have prepared for games at a number of locations in recent years, including training in Manchester before matches.
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O’Neill shared his excitement at the prospect of the ambitious project taking shape in the next few years.
“You can see about this venue more than anything else is that when you come here they are always looking to improve and invest and make things better,” said O’Neill.
“As Aaron (Hughes) said it was important to see that partnership.
“I think we can build something that is really special.
“It will be a great facility and Training Centre.
“It is game-changing in terms of preparation of the team. We are a little bit nomadic at the moment, which is always a challenge.
An artist’s impression of the National Training Centre to be built at the Galgorm resort in Co Antrim
“There is consistency of familiarity of the players and quality of the pitch and everything around that.
“The younger players will have that familiarity and identity with Northern Ireland football and aspiring to go on to play at senior international level.
“It will dramatically change how we can prepare the team in terms of stability.
“Having this facility, things will be taken care of.
“Have we been disadvantaged before? I think it would have been easier if we had had our own base, and this will enhance our preparation.
“International football is a choice and the players have to make themselves available.
“I see the training facilities that are in place for clubs in England and what the lads are coming from, it is important that we have something on a par if not better in senior international football.
“We have a young squad and they will embrace this facility to help us prepare as a team.”
O’Neill is currently working with a youthful squad and he believes that a world-class training venue will keep that production line moving at speed.
“Young players’ first real interaction with football is at grassroots level and they aspire from there to become elite young players,” he added.
“Young players will experience this facility which is strong for building a player’s identity.
“We have had to use various facilities and hotels across Northern Ireland and put training facilities onto that.
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“Going forward we won’t have to do that. The men’s and women’s senior teams will benefit greatly but we come together five times a year, we have limited access to the players, however it will be a game-changer in the sense of the wider influence on the game.
“When I was a young player we didn’t have that exposure, their international journey starts at Under-17 but a lot of work goes on beforehand that people don’t see.”
For former Stoke City boss O’Neill, the Galgorm resort brings back more personal memories.
“When I was playing for Star United this wasn’t here. It is an amazing venue and fabulous facility — I was married here actually 25 years ago,” he recalled.
Former Northern Ireland captain Hughes was involved in discussions on the subject while in a part-time consultancy role before occupying his present position.
The 112-times-capped international shared hopes of a revival in the Galgorm’s Renaissance suite.
“Really for the first time we have a true football home, somewhere that’s a football hub. The brain of football, if you like, will facilitate everything from our elite teams looking to qualify for the Euros and World Cups all the way down to the grassroots,” said the former Newcastle United and Fulham defender.
“It’s a familiarity and it sets standards. When you walk into an environment it can almost set the tone before you’ve even kicked a ball or said a word and I think that’s really important.
“If we’re bringing a player in who isn’t from here and comes in through eligibility straight away they get a feel for who we are and the expectations around standards. That culture and identity is really important.
“It’s been a challenge to find a suitable venue for such a long time, so to be able to take that first step to say that we’re going to have our own home is massive.
An artist’s rendition of the pitches at the proposed National Training Centre
“We have seen the benefits for other nations and the success they have had, we’re now on that journey too.
“Planning it out now is the next bit with a lot of the details now being worked out.
“The first part was finding somewhere. We had great ideas of what we needed but we had to find somewhere to put it.
“That proved a challenge if I’m being honest, but that patience is being rewarded as we have found an excellent location not just for a training ground but also to tick a lot of the boxes that we felt we needed a training ground to be.
“Obviously being partnered with Galgorm gives us fabulous accommodation as well.”
Hughes, who was appointed IFA technical director in late 2022, said the facility would have the power to inspire the next generation.
“This probably covers a few different strands,” he added.
“Obviously it’s a training facility so it allows our teams to prepare.
“Logistically there are all of the difficulties and challenges we face at the moment by not having a central location and having to find facilities and pitches of a certain quality.
“Beyond that though with the culture and identity, it gives our young players a place where they can aspire to follow in the footsteps of our senior internationals.
“Also in the wider football community there will be coach education.
“It’s a constant struggle we have at the moment, finding facilities.
“If you want to start with our senior teams, you’re trying to find facilities that are adequate for high performance and it’s not always easy.”