Arabic version: أونيل متفائل بشأن خطط مركز غالغورم للتدريب
According to BBC News, Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill is hopeful the Irish Football Association can progress plans for a national training centre at Galgorm, with the facility targeted to open by 2028.
The IFA announced plans in February 2025 for a “state-of-the-art” centre beside the Galgorm Resort, outside Ballymena. The proposed site would include “world-class pitches and cutting-edge training facilities”. The association repeated its desire to move forward last month, while saying it hoped to “mitigate concerns where possible” following objections from local residents.
O’Neill, who grew up in Ballymena, said a national training centre would benefit the town and support player development. He said young players should become accustomed to attending an elite facility from an early age, adding that the project would be important for the senior side, underage teams and the women’s team. Northern Ireland have developed a young squad through the JD academy, he said.
O’Neill also said he does not expect Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley to play in Northern Ireland’s upcoming Nations League campaign as he recovers from a knee injury sustained in January. Northern Ireland are scheduled to face Georgia, Hungary and Ukraine in Group B2 across six matches in September, October and November. O’Neill said seeing Bradley before Christmas would be “a real bonus”; otherwise, he said, the March 2027 international break was a more realistic prospect.
