Northern Ireland v Belarus (15/11/2024)

GOOD EVENING Welcome to the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park for our final senior men’s international fixture of 2024.

Tonight we face Belarus in the UEFA Nations League and the stakes are high. We sit top of the League C Group 3 table and we have promotion back to League B firmly in our sights. Tonight’s match and our final group game in Luxembourg on Monday evening will decide it all, so we approach these games quietly confident of our destiny. Of course this match against Belarus does not come without some controversy. The UK Government has indicated that it does not believe Russian or Belarusian teams should be able to compete in international competition while the illegal invasion of Ukraine continues, however UEFA has allowed Belarusian clubs and international teams to maintain their places in competitions. Not fulfilling tonight’s fixture would have put our association at risk of both financial and sporting sanctions, which would have put us in a very difficult position. Sport should always do its best to rise above politics and we in this country know more than most how important sport can be in healing divisions and bringing people together. In other news, it has been a great couple of weeks for our international teams. Our men’s Under-17 squad under Andy Waterworth came top of their UEFA U17 Euro 2025 qualifying group (round one) with home wins against Republic of Ireland and Scotland.

Even a final group match defeat against Lithuania failed to dampen the feelgood factor for this team, who have progressed to the elite round of the qualifiers. It’s the third year in a row that a Northern Ireland U17 team has done this. The players knew also that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, with Michael O’Neill and Tommy Wright watching on with keen interest at that final group match, and Gareth McAuley working with the squad throughout the mini tournament. Tanya Oxtoby’s senior women have made it through to a play-off final for UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 and will play Norway home and away for one of the coveted tickets to the finals. In round one of the play-offs, after two legs against Croatia and with penalties on the horizon, Lauren Wade hit a superb winning goal in front of the Kop to set up the encounter with the Norwegians. The home leg of the final will be at Inver Park in Larne on Friday 29 November with the return leg being staged at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo four days later. Enjoy the game tonight!

PATRICK NELSON CHIEF EXECUTIVE IRISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

IRISHFA.COM

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