Northern Ireland v Slovakia

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

On behalf of the Irish Football Association it gives me great pleasure to welcome the officials and players of Slovakia to the National Football Stadium in Belfast for tonight’s UEFA Euro 2020 Path B Play-off Final.

We live in incredibly different conditions to those of a year ago in Nyon when the draw was made for the Euro play-offs. The Covid-19 pandemic has changed lives throughout the world and, more importantly, the way we all move forward with our lives. It has been a challenging time for sport generally, and of course this great sport of football that we all love has had to adapt to the changes necessary to combat the spread of the disease. To date UEFA administration, with the National Associations, have successfully staged all the Nations League fixtures scheduled for this autumn together with the Euro 2020 play-off semi-finals. It is two semi-final penalty shootout wins that bring us to the Windsor Park arena for a winner takes all final game and a place at the delayed finals scheduled for next June. If the semi-final in Sarajevo is anything to go by, it will be an emotional and exciting night under the lights. Both Northern Ireland and Slovakia have struggled in the Nations League and in particular with triple headers. Such a short turnaround between games inevitably stretched the squads. The countries have played each other just four times in all, the last time being a no score draw in a friendly international in Trnava prior to the beginning of Euro

2016, so there is no form book to refer to. It is a cup final for both teams and let’s look forward to an exciting game played in the spirit of fair play. This is a huge game for the Irish FA, every player, every Northern Ireland supporter and also the entire nation as we look to qualify for successive UEFA European Championship finals. Tonight the stadiumwould normally be rocking with a full house to cheer the team on but restrictions due to Covid-19 mean that there will be around just 1300 in attendance (including players and officials). Still, in the circumstances that prevail throughout the UK, this is a significant number and I know everyone will get behind the players. The thanks of the association are due to government and Belfast City Council who have worked tirelessly with our staff to deliver the event that we are hosting tonight. Thanks to everyone attending this match. Cheer on the team. Enjoy the moment, and please keep safe inside the stadium and on the way home. David J Martin President Irish Football Association

3

www.irishfa.com