NI Football Fund 'on track' despite judicial review

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons says the NI Football Fund is 'on track' despite a legal challenge [Getty Images] Communities minister Gordon Lyons has said the Northern Ireland Football Fund remains "on track" despite an ongoing legal challenge over the process used to select clubs for funding. In September last year, minister Lyons announced that 20 clubs from across Northern Ireland had been successful in reaching the next stage. North Belfast side Crusaders, who compete in the Irish Premiership, and League of Ireland club Derry City both missed out completely, and are seeking an order to have the funding decisions quashed. Lyons said the judicial review had not prevented his department from continuing its work with the clubs already progressing. "It has been over a year, but that doesn't mean that nothing has progressed," the Communities Minster told BBC Sport NI. "We have been working alongside the clubs, and that is still on track with the timeline that I had set out previously. Those clubs (that were successful) have been putting in all of the necessary paperwork. We have been doing the due diligence checks, and that still continues. "You'll be aware of the judicial review that is ongoing. That has not held us back at this stage, and I trust that it won't. Any issues that may arise from that, we hope to be able to resolve." The minister said his priority was to get projects to the point where formal funding offers could be made and construction work could begin. "Our focus is on working with the clubs to make sure that they are ready, because what I want to see are those letters of offer go out and see that work actually starting. "That is continuing, and I have put the resources into the team within the department to make sure that that work is going forward alongside the grassroots element as well, so that we can address all of the need that exists within football." Lyons added that it was a "disgrace that this money was still available" when he took up office. "This should have been dealt with 15 years ago. However, we are progressing. The JR (Judicial Review) isn't holding anything up at this point in time, because it's not simply a case of us just writing a cheque and giving it out to them. "They have to go through the proper processes. We need to keep ourselves right, and we need to make sure the money is going where it can make a difference, and that it's going to be spent efficiently and effectively. So, it's not holding that up when I came into office. "After a decade of nothing being done, it is being progressed far beyond anything that had been done in the past, and that is something that I will continue to push for, however long I have left the office." 'We have to get grassroots right' Lyons was speaking after confirming seven grassroots football projects across Northern Ireland are to progress to undertake "due diligence checks" as part of the next stage of the £9m 'Grassroots Facilities Programme'. The Department for Communities received 35 applications for club-led projects, with five projects selected to progress: Crewe United Football & Social Club, Colin Valley Football Club, Cookstown Youth FC, Dungiven Celtic Youth Football Club and NFC Kesh. The department also confirmed that they received seven applications for council-led projects with Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council and Belfast City Council, the two that were successful. "It can't just be that we start at elite level. We have to get the grassroots right. We have to make sure the facilities are in place. "Resources that I have put in place to help make sure that we can help grassroots sport, those that are at the very coalface, those coaches and volunteers that are trying to bring on the next generation and I'm delighted that we're able to help in this way and I hope that it's just the start." Lyons added that it would take £57 million to cover the needs of everyone. "I'm not suggesting that we're doing everything that needs to be done but, as I always say, I'm doing what I can with what I have," he said. "It will be welcome for these clubs, it will mean that they will be able to progress. "Then it means for the next round we can tackle the other need that exists elsewhere. So I'm committed to doing that, I want to make a start."