Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill said that he was “certainly hopeful” that the Irish Football Association can move forward with plans to have a national training centre open by 2028.

The IFA announced in February 2025 their plans for the “state-of-the-art” facility which will be located next to the Galgorm Resort just outside of Ballymena and will have “world-class pitches and cutting-edge training facilities”.

The association reiterated their desire to proceed with the proposal last month, but did say they hope to “mitigate concerns where possible” after objections from local residents.

O’Neill, who grew up in Ballymena, believes having the facility at Galgorm will have a positive impact on the town.

“It’s important that you do have a national training centre that kids are used to coming to from a young age. It’s an elite facility that shows the intent from the association as they continue to develop players,” he told BBC Sport NI’s Stephen Watson.

“We have a young team at the minute, which we’ve developed through the JD academy and it’s something we should be very proud of, but the national training centre is importantly to the development not just of the senior team but the underage teams and the women’s team.

“I’m certainly hopeful, I’m not in a position of granting authority on these things but it would be good for the town. It can only enhance the town and hopefully the project continues to progress.”

Looking ahead to the upcoming Nations League campaign, O’Neill also said that he does not expect Liverpool right back Conor Bradley to feature as he continues his recovery from a knee injury sustained in January.

Northern Ireland face Georgia, Hungary and Ukraine in Group B2 across six games in September, October and November, but O’Neill believes a more realistic return date for Bradley for his country will be the 2027 March international break.

“I’m comfortable with that,” O’Neill said when asked if he was resigned to the fact that Bradley would not feature in the campaign.

“If we see him this side of Christmas it’s a real bonus, if not, we look forward to March.

“Conor is where I expected him to be. I knew the injury was going to take longer than some people were thinking. He’s making good progress. It has to be managed very carefully an injury of that nature,” O’Neill added.

“Conor will be with us when he’s ready and fit and we’ll be delighted to have him back.”