GAA President Jarlath Burns has admitted that he is "pessimistic" that Casement Park in Belfast will be developed on time to host games at Euro 2028.
Located in West Belfast, Casement Park is one of ten stadiums selected to host Euro 2028, which will take place across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England.
It is the only Northern Irish venue to be selected for the competition.
However, the planned redevelopment of the West Belfast GAA stadium has been constantly delayed, with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris stating in April that the British Government is still "working to figure out" the cost of the project.
The original cost of the redevelopment was estimated to be around £77.5 million when plans were first announced over a decade ago, but Heaton-Harris said in March that the project could now cost more than £300 million.
In February, the Irish Government committed €50 million (£42 million) toward the redevelopment of the stadium as part of an €800 million cross-border funding package, while the GAA has committed €17 million (£15 million).
The British Government has said that it will make a "significant contribution" to the project but has yet to put an exact figure on the table.
Speaking at the launch of the GAA's All Ireland Hurling Championship on Tuesday, June 11, Burns said it appeared unlikely that Casement Park would host any Euro 2028 games.
“The whole project is being run by the Strategic Investment Board and the Strategic Investment Board have been telling us in order to get the tenders in and to find out what it’s going to cost, it’s going to take six weeks, and then there’s going to have to be another four weeks for appeals to that.
"We’re working away, we’re clearing the site and that.
"But at the end of the day, it’s UEFA and their timelines are important.
“It has to be up and running for almost a year before you can actually say that it’s properly functional, so I’m now pessimistic that the Euros will be played in Casement Park."
Burns did say that he's "hopeful and expectant" that the funds will be made available to make a provincial stadium,
?️ 'The GAA will always be in a precarious position where we find ourselves dependent on the goodwill of a British government, it's never worked out for us before.'
Jarlath Burns is 'pessimistic' about Ireland's #Euro2028 bid, as Casement Park is unlikely to be ready. pic.twitter.com/xKU26mlpjF
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) June 12, 2024
Speaking to BBC Sport NI on Wednesday, Burns said: "Well, I'm not resigned yet.
"I'm very pessimistic and that was the word I used yesterday because whenever the Euros were announced for Belfast, the clock began ticking. It's ticking very fast now and ticking down, unfortunately.
"The six weeks lead into the [general] election is very unhelpful because that takes us right up to the 4 July and whoever is in government on 5 July needs to prioritize this as their number one project if this is going to be delivered for Belfast and for Northern Ireland."
Ulster GAA has also called on the Northern Ireland Executive to kickstart the project.
"As the world waits for Euro 2024 to kick off this weekend in Germany, the time is quickly approaching for the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to decide if they want to host the third-largest sporting event in the world, in Belfast, in four years’ time," Ulster GAA said in a statement.
"The recent comments of Uachtarán CLG (GAA president) Jarlath Burns, reflects the frustration and dismay regarding the delay in the development of Casement Park relating to both the procurement of a main contractor and the project’s funding package.
"Following our joint letter with the Irish FA to the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak we have had confirmation that details of government funding will not be made available until after the UK Parliament elections on July 4.
"To keep this global and transformational opportunity alive, we are now urgently calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to collectively discuss the opportunities that Euro 2028 will create for our society and the reputational, economic, and sporting risk of losing this global event."
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