13 November 2025
SDLP Opposition Communities Spokesperson Mark H Durkan MLA has said Belfast hosting the draw for Euro 2028 highlights the huge missed opportunity to hold games in the North.
He was speaking after Communities Minister Gordon Lyons heralded hosting the draw.
Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan said:
“It is galling that the Communities Minister expects us to celebrate hosting the Euros draw when it is his and the Executive's failure that has stopped games taking place in the North. This was a once in a lifetime chance to host one of the biggest sports tournaments in the world and it has been squandered.
“Hosting the Euros would have been an economic boost for the entire North, bringing tourists from around the world and hundreds of millions into our economy. It would have delivered a real sporting legacy for football, a first class stadium for the GAA in Ulster and a major venue for a community in west Belfast crying out for investment. Like so many other opportunities it has been lost due to political intransigence.
“This tournament was a moment for people to come together and it would have been fantastic to see both teams on this island taking part on home soil. Instead, we will look on enviously as Dublin hosts seven games in the tournament and we are left out in the cold. It will take much more than a draw to make up for that.”