Work starts at Belfast’s Euro 2028 ghost ground with clock ticking

Patrick Nelson speaks with such conviction about Northern Ireland staging games in the 2028 Euros that one would wonder what all the fuss is about.

“We take the view that when you put a hurdle in front of us, we clear it and ask what is next,” says the chief executive of the Irish FA. 

“We have been relentless in terms of bringing this tournament here. Belfast deserves it, Northern Ireland deserves it. It will be fabulous as and when it happens.” 

Nelson seemingly found himself in an invidious position as the UK and Republic of Ireland bid for these finals. At that time, as now, Northern Ireland did not have a stadium which met Uefa’s 30,000-capacity criteria. Key to Belfast’s role is the complete rebuild of Casement Park, a derelict Gaelic games ground in west Belfast.

Last Monday morning, the gates of Casement swung open as ground clearance work got underway. Within 24 hours, the Irish government had committed what Nelson deems a “very significant and symbolic” €50m (£42.8m) to the project. This scheme, dogged by controversy and negative publicity, suddenly has a tailwind.

“The fact is Northern Ireland is an integral part of the UK and we were clear from day one that this was a UK-wide bid,” Nelson adds. “It wasn’t GB, it was the United Kingdom. We had a common cause, we believed we were stronger together in terms of the bid and it has been a great partnership so far.

“We were adamant we weren’t just here for the ride. We saw this as an opportunity to change the face of Northern Ireland. Sport makes such a difference, football is the biggest sport in the world and if we can bring part of what is the third biggest sports tournament in the world to Belfast … imagine the changes that could make. So it was never a hard