The Performance Programme
The Performance Programme is a strand within The Northern Ireland Football Fund (TNIFF) which is designed to disburse funding to modernise local Performance Club’s football grounds. Performance Clubs are defined as all current football clubs which are members of the Northern Ireland Football League or League of Ireland who play their home matches at a venue located in Northern Ireland.
Desired outcomes
The TNIFF Performance Programme aims to deliver the following outcomes:
Football
- Football: fit for purpose facilities which meet modern safety and footballing requirements.
- Modern: modern grounds which meet user expectations.
Community
- Impactful: Impactful community, environmental and economic benefits.
- Inclusive: Highest standard of inclusion and disability provision.
Finance
- Sustainable: Financially sustainable and future proofed clubs
Launch of the Performance Programme
The Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons MLA launched the Performance Programme on Thursday 30 January 2025
The Minister invited eligible applicants to submit proposals to modernise their grounds and transform the game for players, fans and local communities before the closing date for applications of 14 March 2025.
A copy of the application form, the guidance notes and scoring matrix can be found on the Performance Programme documents page.
Applications
A total of 37 applications were submitted from 38 different clubs. One application was made jointly by two clubs, and one application was received from a local council in partnership with a performance club.
Each application was allocated to a tier dependent on the total cost of their project.
| Tier 1 (<£1.5m) | Tier 2 (£1.5m to £6m) | Tier 3 (>£6m) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 applications | 19 applications | 8 applications |
Officials assessed, scored and ranked all applications within each of the three tiers in line with the scoring matrix guidance.
Minister Lyons considered the ranking order in each tier and decided how many of the eligible applicants should be taken forward to the next stage of the programme.
On 11 September 2025 Minister Lyons announced a prioritised cohort of 20 applicants will be taken forward to the next stage of the programme adding:
“This is the beginning of an ongoing process to provide much needed funding and raise the standard of the entire sector. This is not a zero-sum game; my intention is that those applicants not in the prioritised cohort will be brought forward to the next stage of the Programme if more funding is made available."
In alphabetical order the 20 applicants in the prioritised cohort are:
Tier 1 (project value under £1.5m)
- Armagh City
- Ballymacash Sports Academy
- Lisburn Distillery
- Queens’ University
- Rathfriland Rangers
Tier 2 (project value £1.5m to £6m)
- Ballinamallard United
- Ballymena United
- Banbridge Town
- Bangor
- Carrick Rangers
- Dergview
- Dungannon Swifts
- Glenavon
- Larne
- Lisburn Rangers
- Loughgall
- Newry City
- Oxford Sunnyside
Tier 3 (project value more than £6m)
- Cliftonville
- Glentoran
Current stage
The 20 applicants in the prioritised cohort have undergone due diligence checks and no insurmountable issues have been identified.
On 5 February 2026 a Letter of Offer was issued to the prioritised cohort to financially assist applicants to produce a business case to meet the requirements and outcomes of the Performance Programme.
This funding will not be drawn from the Programme’s ringfenced capital budget of £36.2m but, rather, will be provided from a separate Departmental resource budget.
Completion, submission and approval of business cases does not guarantee any projects will receive capital grant awards at the later stages of the Programme. All decisions remain subject to the Department’s discretion and availability of funding.
Next stage
Clubs will proceed to next stages of their programme in line with their state of readiness and available budget.
Further detail on the Performance Programme to date including the stages within the programme can be found in the Performance Programme factsheet.
Other resources available
The Northern Ireland Football Fund ICS Literature Review and Horizon scan. This is a report commissioned by the Department and provides an overview of the landscape of sports organisations across the globe that are working to improve facilities at their clubs and for their players and supporters whilst also aiming to deliver health, social, economic and environmental benefits to their wider communities.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact us by emailing the Northern Ireland Football Fund.
If you include a phone number we will endeavour to call you back as quickly as possible.
Media enquiries should be directed to the Press Office, or for out of hours media enquiries, contact the Duty Press Officer on 028 90 378 110.