Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium
A total of £36.2m is to be distributed, with Derry City seeking £11.8m and Coleraine applying for £10m.
Applications to the Northern Ireland Football Fund closed on Friday, with 41 clubs from both the men’s and women’s game eligible to apply.
Both Derry City and Coleraine have defended their applications for a large slice of the £36.2m.
Derry City said their application is to help cover the completion of the Mark Farren stand, “as well as other improvements at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium.
Work on a new stand at the Brandywell, which is named after former player Mark Farren, began in 2018 as part of a £7m redevelopment.
However, the second phase of that project has still not been built despite planning permission already being granted.
Three levels of grants were available in the application process:
* projects with a total cost of up to £1.5m
* up to £6m
* more than £6m
Although the total amount in the fund is £36.2m, some of that money may be distributed separately, to grassroots football and a
proposed new national training centre.
The Northern Ireland Football Fund dates back to 2011, when it was called the Sub-Regional Stadia Programme.
