Sinn Féin Representative Raymond McCartney MLA has called on Derry City Council Chief Executive to seek an urgent meeting with the IFA to secure funding for the Brandywell redevelopment.

Mr McCartney said: "The announcement tonight that the IFA and Linfield Football Club have come to agreement on the future of Windsor Park sets the scene for the release of a second tranche of funding for redevelopment of other stadia throughout the North.

"As a Council owned facility in is incumbent on Derry City Council (DCC) to act immediately to secure funding for the upgrade of Brandywell Stadium. I am therefore calling on the DCC Chief Executive to seek an urgent meeting with the IFA to insist that the Brandywell is included in the allocation of the expected £31million second tranche disbursement.

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"While reporting the agreement between the IFA and Linfield suggested some confusion around the Brandywell’s eligibility to share in the second tranche, any suggestion that the Brandywell does not qualify because of Derry City Football Club’s affiliation to the FAI, must be resisted and dispelled immediately. Derry City FC is only one of a number of tenants who avail of facilities at the Brandywell – it is a Council owned venue and as such comes under the jurisdiction of the Assembly Health and Safety Regulations and therefore qualifies for refurbishment funding on the same basis as any other stadium in the North."

(CD/GK)