Irish FA ‘steadfast’ on Galgorm football centre despite threatened legal challenge
Design drawings showing the planned new IFA National Football Training Centre in Ballymena
The Irish FA says it remains “steadfast” in its plans to create a National Football Centre at Galgorm after two residents threatened legal action over how the development’s potential environmental impact has been assessed.
Responding to a pre-action letter concerning the major six-pitch development, the association said the project represents a “once-in-a-generation investment” in football, communities and sporting infrastructure.
An Irish FA spokesperson said:
“We are aware of the pre-action letter.
“We remain steadfast in our vision to create a state-of-the-art National Football Centre that will become the beating heart of football in Northern Ireland – providing a permanent home for our national teams, inspiring the next generation, supporting grassroots football and youth development, and creating meaningful opportunities for community engagement which is central to both this project and the values of the Irish FA.
“This project represents a unique opportunity to deliver a world-class facility and a once-in-a-generation investment in football, communities and sporting infrastructure.
“We will continue to listen, engage constructively, and mitigate concerns where possible, as the planning process progresses.”
Legal action concerns environmental assessment
Galgorm residents Sarah and John Herbison who have spearheaded opposition to the new IFA National Football Training Centre
The response follows confirmation that Galgorm residents Sarah and John Herbison have instructed solicitors to send a pre-action letter to Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
Mrs Herbison, who lives on Ballymena Road and is a leading figure in the Right Facility, Wrong Location campaign, and her husband intend to seek a judicial review of the council’s environmental screening determination.
The legal challenge is not currently asking a court to decide whether planning permission should be granted. It concerns the council’s determination that the proposed development does not require an Environmental Statement.
The Herbisons have given the council 14 days to reconsider that decision, after which they say an application for judicial review will proceed.
Residents dispute council’s decision
Proposed location of the new IFA National Football Training Centre
The residents’ legal letter argues that even technical advisers acting for the applicant had accepted that the proposal was “EIA Development” requiring an Environmental Statement to accompany the planning application.
Despite this, it claims the council has twice screened the proposed development out of the requirement for that more detailed assessment.
The letter states:
“Indeed, the very idea that a twenty-two hectare site in the open countryside being developed for a national football training centre with six football pitches capable of accommodating thousands of people does not constitute EIA development is, on its very face, an absurd proposition.”
That is the legal position being advanced on behalf of the Herbisons. It has not yet been tested or determined by a court.
What the challenge could mean
Judicial review examines whether a public body made a decision lawfully and followed the correct process. It does not ordinarily determine the planning merits of a proposed development.
If proceedings begin, the court would be asked to examine Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s decision that an Environmental Statement was not required.
Design drawings showing the planned new IFA National Football Training Centre in Ballymena
An Environmental Impact Assessment is a formal process used where a proposed development may have significant effects on the environment.
The resulting Environmental Statement sets out the likely effects of a project and identifies measures intended to prevent, reduce or offset environmental harm.
The residents’ pre-action letter concludes:
“Council has an opportunity now to reflect on its conduct and to take steps to avoid unnecessary and costly litigation at an early stage of its processing of this application which will only serve to undermine public confidence and trust.
“All that is asked is that the Council properly discharges its obligations under the Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 by subjecting this application to the scrutiny it properly demands.”
What the Irish FA wants to build
The full planning application, reference LA02/2026/0169/F, covers approximately 22 hectares around 125 Fenaghy Road, between Galgorm and Cullybackey.
The proposed centre would contain six football pitches—five outdoor and one indoor. Three would have hybrid surfaces, three would be artificial and three would have floodlights.
One would be designated as a community pitch.
The spectator facilities would include one 1,100-seat stand and two separate 500-seat stands.
A two-storey multi-purpose building would contain training, changing, medical, catering, administration and media facilities.
The plans also include a community pitch building, photovoltaic panels, internal access roads, lighting, fencing, car parking, landscaping and new accesses from Fenaghy Road.
The Irish FA believes the centre would give Northern Ireland’s national teams a permanent training base while supporting grassroots football, youth development and community activity.
What the centre could bring to Ballymena
If approved, the National Football Centre would represent a major addition to Ballymena’s sporting infrastructure and raise the area’s profile across Northern Ireland football.
The development would bring senior and underage international teams, coaches, support staff and football programmes to the area, while providing purpose-built training, medical and performance facilities.
A dedicated community pitch forms part of the proposal, alongside a separate community building intended to support grassroots football and wider engagement. The Irish FA says the centre would inspire young players and create opportunities for schools, clubs and communities.
The scale of the development could also generate economic activity for nearby hospitality, accommodation and service businesses through visiting teams, fixtures, training camps, events and other football-related activity.
Its location close to Ballymena would place the town alongside Windsor Park as part of Northern Ireland’s national football infrastructure, potentially giving the area a lasting sporting identity and attracting visitors from across the country.
Those potential benefits do not resolve the environmental and planning questions raised by opponents, but they are an essential part of the decision facing the council: whether the sporting, community and economic value of a national facility can be delivered at Galgorm without unacceptable consequences for residents and the surrounding countryside.
Campaign maintains Galgorm is the wrong location
The Right Facility, Wrong Location campaign supports the principle of creating a National Football Centre but argues that the proposed countryside site is unsuitable for a development of this scale.
Campaigners have raised concerns about additional traffic on Fenaghy Road, noise, floodlighting, the loss of countryside and possible effects on wildlife and neighbouring properties.
Local residents, businesses and organisations have submitted objections through the planning portal, including Galgorm Parks Riding School and Riding for the Disabled.
The Irish FA’s latest statement makes clear that the association remains committed to delivering the centre at Galgorm and intends to address concerns through the continuing planning process.
The immediate question, however, is whether the council will defend or reconsider its environmental determination before the residents’ 14-day deadline expires.
