Northern Ireland vs Switzerland (21/03/2025)

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

The Swiss are more readily associated with chocolate, cheese, mountains and clocks but the Switzerland senior men’s football team have also been making their mark in recent times.

The Swiss are currently 20th in the FIFA Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking. In contrast Northern Ireland are in 71st place. And, of course, Switzerland is hosting UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, where the country’s senior women’s team will be looking to make an impact, too. I welcome you (our fans) and the players, officials and supporters of Switzerland to the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park in Belfast for this international friendly. The Rossocrociati (Red Crosses) have a good pedigree. They narrowly lost out 5-3 in a penalty shootout with England in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals. In their last competitive fixture – in the UEFA Nations League – they narrowly lost 3-2 to European champions Spain, so they are a force to be reckoned with. Their head coach, Murat Yakin, has been in the role since 2021 and has an interesting blend of youth and experience at his disposal. Our own squad has an emphasis on youth and tonight is an excellent opportunity for our players to test themselves against top level opposition. It has been a busy start to 2025 for the Irish FA off the field. I am sure that you all share my excitement with the announcement of the intention to develop the National Football Centre at Galgorm. As a nation we are one of the few countries that does not have its own dedicated training centre, and the development is long overdue. I look forward to the centre becoming part of the DNA of Northern Ireland football and nurturing both today’s best players and young talent for the future. The Swiss have a proverb “Was Hänschen nicht lernt, lernt Hans nimmermehr”. This translates to “What little Hans doesn’t learn, big Hans never will”.

For our part the recently launched Youth Football Framework will allow us to have a firm foundation for the young players of the future – they will learn. The JD Academy will support them – they will learn further. The National Football Centre will allow us to consolidate the culture and good habits – they will have learnt even further. Domestically I am pleased that Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has pushed the Northern Ireland Football Fund. This too is overdue. Initial promised funding of £36.2m is a relatively small sum in the scheme of things today but I am cautiously optimistic for the future with Minister Lyons committed to seeking more funding wherever he can. The inclusion of Northern Ireland as part of the UK bid for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035 is another hugely positive step and came on the same day as the launch of our new women’s and girls’ football strategy, Together We Thrive. These are exciting times for the women’s game and we will continue to grow it further. Many of you will be travelling to Sweden in a few days’ time and I thank you in advance for your support. The Nationalarenan, known as Strawberry Arena since 2024 for sponsorship reasons, is an impressive stadium in Stockholm and I look forward to catching up with a few of you on the trip. I should also like to congratulate the members of City of Armagh Northern Ireland Supporters’ Club on the club’s recent 30th anniversary and thank them for inviting me to help them celebrate the occasion. Enjoy the game tonight and safe travels if you are joining us in the Swedish capital. CONRAD KIRKWOOD PRESIDENT IRISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

IRISHFA.COM

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