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GOOD
EVENING
Tonight is a very special occasion for the Irish
Football Association, coming just over nine months
into a very special year.
No-one will ever forget the exploits of our players,
supporters and indeed everyone involved with
Northern Ireland at UEFA Euro 2016, however as
we look forward to the prospect of qualifying for
our first FIFA World Cup in 32 years we are also
able to formally open the National Football Stadium
tonight.
After many years of negotiating and planning, the
first workers moved into Windsor Park just after the
Irish Cup Final in 2014 and just 29 months later we
have a stadium which is virtually unrecognisable
from the previous incarnation.
Over 18,500 seats, four hospitality lounges named
after the biggest legends of our game, 10 private
hospitality boxes and most of all a top quality
playing surface have been put in place during this
time.
The seats themselves were originally designed for
the Allianz Arena in Munich and are also fitted in
the London 2012 Aquatics Arena; this small detail
shows that quality has been high on the agenda
all the way through the stadium redevelopment. A
compact, world class stadium for our nation, one
which we have deserved for a long time and which
we can now enjoy.
This is not just any stadium. It is our stadium and
it stands as a symbol of the ‘grander spirit’ of the
new Northern Ireland. It is the stadium of George
Best, Pat Jennings, Danny Blanchflower and Billy
Bingham as well as that of Michael O’Neill, Steven
Davis and the current squad.
Welcome to the National Football Stadium at Windsor
Park for our first home game in the FIFA World Cup 2018
qualifiers. Our opponents this evening are San Marino and
we hope they enjoy their time in Belfast.
We are the country of Rory McIlroy, Seamus
Heaney, AP McCoy and Van Morrison and
the National Football Stadium is a physical
manifestation of all that is good about this country.
Already on the way in or out of George Best Belfast
City Airport passengers look out of the aeroplane
window and gaze at the new addition to the Belfast
skyline, perhaps remembering performances
of old, perhaps dreaming of qualifying for future
tournaments.
There are too many people to thank for getting
us here tonight, however ones I cannot miss out
are the Northern Ireland Executive for providing
the vast majority of the funding, Mark Haslett,
Andy Priest and Geoff Patterson who between
them designed and managed the entire project,
all the members of the stadium project board
who ensured we maintained good governance
throughout and, of course, Linfield Football Club
without whose agreement we could not have
moved forward.
Tonight I am delighted that we have as our special
guest FIFA President Gianni Infantino who will
formally open the stadium. Gianni is the symbol
of a new FIFA as much as the National Football
Stadium is a symbol of a new and confident
Northern Ireland. Thanks for coming Gianni, and
we hope you and everyone else present tonight
enjoy the match.
Patrick Nelson
Chief Executive
Irish Football Association
www.irishfa.com7