By Kevin Mullan

Copyright derryjournal

“There is a lot of disappointment and anger, although not a lot of surprise, across the football fraternity and beyond in the north-west at the Communities Minister’s announcement last week on the Northern Ireland Football Fund. “The decision not to fund Derry City Football Club and Institute Football Club has caused cross-community consternation and concern and makes a mockery of the claims of regional balance in the Executive’s Programme for Government,” said the Foyle MLA during Members’ Statements on Monday. Last week sports minister Gordon Lyons confirmed Derry City’s bid for an £11.8 million share of the NI Football Fund had been unsuccessful. Neither Derry, nor Institute FC, were among the 20 successful clubs out of 38 applicants. “The SDLP is demanding a VAR-like review of this diabolical on-field decision, and we will be canvassing cross-party support for such a review, be it through a petition of concern, the Communities Committee or the Executive. “This cannot lead to accusations of delaying a process that has already been disastrously delayed by being used as a political football and by five years of Assembly collapse. “The Minister himself has conceded that funding will not be allocated until late next year and that several of the successful projects will probably never even come to fruition. This decision cannot stand. Derry clubs deserve better. We all deserve better. We all demand transparency,” he said.