The ‘A Space for All’ project will see the redevelopment of sports facilities, delivering modern, inclusive and accessible infrastructure for community use and the development of sport.

The total funding for the project is £7.6million, which includes £3.5million from the Department for Communities, £1million from Sport Northern Ireland’s National Lottery funding and approximately £3million through the Irish Government’s Shared Island initiative.

Gavin Boyd, Sport NI Chair, said: “We warmly welcome this major investment in sporting facilities at the Pavilion, which will deliver lasting benefits for both community and high-performance sport. We look forward to working with nicssa and others to ensure that these enhanced facilities open up greater opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to take part in sport and physical activity.”

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said: “My Department’s investment of £3.5million, alongside commitments from Sport NI and the Irish Government, demonstrates clearly our determination to deliver real, positive and lasting change through investment in high-quality, inclusive facilities.

“This project will deliver tangible benefits for communities, supporting participation, improving wellbeing and creating opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.

“The redevelopment will address capacity and accessibility issues while enhancing opportunities for schools, clubs and under-represented groups. This investment will significantly strengthen Northern Ireland’s position as a proposed location to host matches in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2030, in partnership with Cricket Ireland, and I will continue to strongly make the case for matches to be secured for Belfast.”

Kieran Devlin, CEO, nicssa, said: “Beyond major events, the investment will deliver lasting benefits for our members and local communities by increasing access to sport, supporting health and wellbeing and creating opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to participate in physical activity.

“Construction is anticipated to commence in early 2027, with completion anticipated for summer 2028.

“This landmark investment represents a significant milestone in strengthening Northern Ireland’s sporting infrastructure, creating lasting opportunities for participation, performance and international events for many years to come.”

Brian MacNeice, Chair of Cricket Ireland, said: “We are delighted with this funding announcement today. This commitment by the two governments, both north and south of the border, is a clear demonstration of support and belief that they have in the future of Irish cricket and will provide much needed infrastructure and facilities for our sport.

“This investment will greatly enhance our facilities in Northern Ireland. It will ensure we have fit for purpose infrastructure to host senior international events in Stormont and support our ability to cohost the 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup.”

World Championship silver medallist Kate O’Connor will compete in the Heptathlon with fellow Heptathlete Anna McCauley.

Nick Griggs, Callum Morgan and James Gormley will all be making their games debuts in the 5,000m and mile races respectively.

Also, Para Athlete Eve Walsh Dann will compete in the 100m and Long Jump in the T38 classification.

It was four years ago that Kate O’Connor won a silver medal in the heptathlon in Birmingham announcing her arrival on the international stage.

In 2025, O’Connor claimed a gold medal at the World University Games as well as silver at the World Championships in Tokyo where the Newry born athlete set a new Irish record of 6714 points and five personal bests.

In Paris O’Connor became Ireland’s first ever Olympic heptathlete and she also holds the Irish record in the pentathlon.

Anna McCauley will compete in her second Commonwealth Games after a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon in Birmingham. Last year McCauley finished second in the UK Athletics Championship heptathlon.

In May, McCauley become the second Irish heptathlete to break the 6000 points barrier at the Mehrkampf meeting in Switzerland.

Middle distance runner Nick Griggs is one of three athletes making their Team NI Commonwealth Games debuts along with Callum Morgan and James Gormley.

Griggs is a former European U20 3000m champion and U23 European Cross country champion and ran a seasons best at Hengelo in the Netherlands.

Callum Morgan, training partner of Nick Griggs, earlier this year broke the Northern Irish 10k record and finished top 10 in the U23 European cross-country championships.

James Gormley was in the NACC system at Oregon University and is currently based in Manchester. He set a new record NI record for the mile indoor this season.

Eva Walsh Dann is a para athlete will be competing in her second games after being in Birmingham to compete in the 100 metres and long jump.

We are proud to support Team NI thanks to funding from the National Lottery.

Team NI Athletics squad

Kate O’Connor – Heptathlon

Anna McCauley – Heptathlon

Nick Griggs – 5000m

Callum Morgan – 5000m

James Gormley – Mile

Eve Walsh Dann – T38 100m/Long Jump

Photo Caption: Anna McCauley, Kate O’Connor and Eve Walsh Dann at the Team NI Athletics Squad Announcement

Erin Creighton, Emma Jeffers, Esther Wong, Matthew Dobbins and Chris Burns will be in the hotseat across Cycling and Para Cycling.

Antrim rider Erin Creighton helped Team Ireland qualify its first ever women’s Team Pursuit squad for the Olympic Games and travelled to Paris in 2024 as a reserve.

Creighton is a former Irish Junior Road Race Champion claiming the title in 2022 and finish fourth in the Elimination Race at the Junior World Championships in the same year. The 22-year-old is regarded as one of Northern Ireland’s most promising cyclists.

Emma Jeffers is an all rounder who started BMX racing at four years old before switching to road racing. Jeffers list of successes includes two sprint victories at the Gracia in the Czech Republic and a win at the National Circuit Championships.

Esther Wong is a talented young Irish cyclist known for her versatility across road racing, track, and cyclo-cross, currently riding for Team Farto – Kiroot.

Wong has notable results in junior and U23 competitions, including top 15 finishes in the National Championships Ireland WE – Road Race and the Région Pays de la Loire Tour – Féminin.

Matthew Dobbins has competed internationally for Ireland in a range of road cycling competitions and the 25-year-old enjoyed a sixth-place stage two finish at last year’s Tour of Kosovo.

In Para Cycling, Banbridge C2 rider Chris Burns will compete with recent notable podium finishes at both national and international competitions. At the German Open Paracycling Track Championship, Burns achieved a triple podium finish whilst at national level Burns collected five medals over one weekend.

We are proud to support TeamNI thanks to National Lottery funding.

Olympic gold medallist Rhys McClenaghan will be leading the charge for medals as he hopes to add a third consecutive Commonwealth medal to his growing collection with a previous gold and silver in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

Lisburn athlete Ewan McAteer finished sixth in the vault final in Birmingham four years ago and will be competing at his third Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Eamon Montgomery finished fifth with his floor routine in 2022 with the Belfast gymnast taking silver at a recent World Cup meet in Antalya with a score of 13.833.

There will be a debutant as well in 18 year old Chester Enriquez. The Newtownabbey gymnast made history by becoming Ireland’s first ever gold medallist at the European Youth Olympics Festival.

We’re proud to support Team NI through National Lottery funding.

TeamNI Gymnastics squad

Rhys McClenaghan

Ewan McAteer

Eamon Montgomery

Chester Enriquez

Hannah Crymble, Harrison McGrogan, Kaitlin Saunders and Omar Keshta will take to the Platform in Glasgow with double the number of weightlifters making the qualification standard from Birmingham in 2022.

Athlete Award recipient, thanks to National Lottery funding, Hannah Crymble is fresh off becoming back to back British Champion at the 63kg weight category and will be competing at her second Commonwealth Games.

Fellow Athlete Award recipient Harrison McGrogan is also just back from victory at the British Championships in the 71kg.

The former Bangor Grammar School rugby scrum half has a busy summer ahead competing at his first Commonwealth Games and awaiting his A Level results.

Debutant Kaitlin Saunders was inspired to take up weightlifting after watching Team NI compete in Birmingham. A former gymnast and CrossFit athlete, Saunders will be competing in her first games after lifting the qualifying standard at 77kg.

Omar Keshta, who was born in Belfast before moving to Egypt, will also be competing in his first Commonwealth Games. Keshta retuned to the UK to study at Brunel University and will compete in the 110kg + weight category.

We’re proud to support Team NI thanks to funding from the National Lottery.

‘The Wicket Man’ is available to listen to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.

Rankin shares all with host Hugh Campbell about the psychology within cricket and the battle between bat and ball. He also discusses his upbringing and valuable advice to elite athletes on his preparation to compete at the top level.

Standing at 6ft 8, Boyd Rankin was a fast bowler who claimed over 500 wickets in his professional career in Test, ODI, T20 and First Class cricket which consisted of representing England, Ireland, Warwickshire and Derbyshire.

Rankin is one of very few cricketers to play for two countries in his International career with the likes of Eoin Morgan and Ed Joyce also playing for England and Ireland.

Rankin had a fascinating start in International cricket as he received his first call up whilst studying agriculture where the original plan was for him to work at the family farm.

From the fields of the farm to the cricket pitch, Rankin went on to compete at the 2007 World Cup where he took figures of 3/32 as Ireland shocked Pakistan.

To reach the pinnacle of cricket Boyd switched to compete for England with Ireland not being a Test Nation. Therefore, Rankin stopped playing for Ireland in 2012 and soon after made his England debut in the 2013/14 Ashes.

Boyd would return to Ireland when they received Test status and took their first Test wicket on 11 May 2018 against Pakistan.

Rankin is now Head Coach of the North West Warriors as part of the North West Cricket Union and was recently a coach as Ireland hosted New Zealand for a Test Match at Stormont.

Creating Opportunities, funded by the National Lottery, is focused on levelling the playing field and providing more opportunities for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities to participate in sport and physical activity.

The programme will support local sports clubs, charities, voluntary organisations and Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) to raise funds for their participation projects by setting-up their own crowdfunding campaigns.

This year Sport NI will match fund the projects by pledging 65% of an organisation’s Crowdfunder campaign total up to a maximum of £5,000.

Successful projects will need the support of their local community and wider network to meet their fundraising target.

Sport NI Interim CEO Richard Archibald said: “The third year of Creating Opportunities will continue to help clubs and organisations develop innovative projects that make sport more accessible and inclusive.

“We’re pleased to increase our match funding to 65% this year. Combined with the invaluable support of local communities, this investment will help more people across Northern Ireland take part in sport.

“Sport is for everyone, but people can face a range of barriers, from ability and time to resources. No one should be excluded from participating in sport and physical activity, and we are grateful to The National Lottery for helping us break down these barriers.”

In 2025/26, 85 projects across 15 sports benefited from over £375,000 of National Lottery funding through Creating Opportunities. An additional £413,000 was raised by campaign supporters via Crowdfunder, resulting in over £700,000 invested into local grassroots sport.

Belfast Superkings Cricket Club created a new youth development programme which they were able to offer for free to participants, Leander Swimming Club ran the ‘Get on Deck’ project to revitalise female engagement and Woodvale Football Club ran extra training for girls aged 2-10.

At Queen’s, they used their funding to introduce international students to GAA and the hockey club ran the ‘Get Hooked’ programme to introduce students to university sport and enjoy the social culture without financial barriers.

Applications for Phase 3 are now open. Successful projects must complete their crowdfunding campaigns and deliver activity by 31 March 2027.

Organisations interested in applying can find out more and begin their crowdfunding journey via the Sport NI Creating Opportunities programme website: www.sportni.net/funding/creating-opportunities/

This project has been made possible thanks to the support from The National Lottery and the National Lottery players who raise more than £33 million every week for good causes.

Outdoors Week is part of our Be Seen, Be Heard, Belong campaign, which encourages women & girls to get take part in sport and physical activity.

Starting on Monday 8 June, Swim Ulster, Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, The Outdoor Partnership and Outscape will be running low-cost and free events for women & girls to take part.

So far, events confirmed to take place include Get Wet Stay Safe, Sailing Taster Sessions, Hill Skills, Social Cycling and Riverside Walk and Tea, showcasing the range of activities for all abilities, ages and preference.

Locations are spread out across Northern Ireland such as South Lakes Leisure Centre, Portrush, Warrenpoint, Lough Erne Yacht Club, Strangford Lough and more.

Interim Director of Sport Rebecca Hope said: “Our Be Seen, Be Heard, Belong campaign aims to encourage women & girls to get involved or come back to sport for the mental and physical benefits of physical activity.

“Sport is crucial for all of us whether it be for competition, socialising, fitness or our mental health. Outdoors week is an opportunity for people to try something new or have another go at an activity in a welcoming environment which can then be taken forward for years to come.”

Check out all the events in your area here: https://www.sportni.net/be-seen-be-heard-belong-in-the-outdoors-8-14-june-2026/

You can also find out more about our Be Seen, Be Heard, Belong campaign here: https://beseenbeheardbelong.co.uk/

The £3.2m project, delivered by OB Construction, includes a new dedicated boxing facility and a multi-use sports hall with accommodation for gymnastics. New changing accommodation, a Changing Places Facility, additional storage, and accessible car parking spaces also form part of the development.

The project was made possible following £1,845,000 in funding through Sport NI’s National Lottery Funded Multi Facility Fund.

Sport NI has worked closely with Council and Disability Sport NI to ensure the design is fully inclusive for people with disabilities and meets the requirements of Inclusive Sports Facility Guide.

Gavin Boyd, Chair of Sport NI said: “Sport NI’s Multi Facility Fund, made possible thanks to the National Lottery, has transformed facilities across our communities.

“We’re delighted to have partnered with Derry City and Strabane District Council to deliver this new state of the art facility and provide opportunities for all abilities to participate in sport which is crucial for our physical and mental health.

“We are especially proud that by working with Disability Sport NI, the new building at Melvin Sports Complex and its access routes meet the Accessible Sports Facilities Design Guidelines.

“Thank you to the National Lottery players who raise around £33 million every week for National Lottery-funded projects with Melvin Sports Complex the latest example of how vital this investment is to local sport.”

The opening event was attended by representatives from Sport NI, the National Lottery, Disability Sport NI, and Derry City and Strabane District Council.

Guests watched demonstrations from anchor tenants Mourne Golden Gloves Boxing Club, Lisnafin ABC Boxing Club, and Melvin Gymnastics.

Mayor McHugh paid tribute to all stakeholders for their collaborative work in delivering the state-of-the-art facility.

He added: “I am delighted to formally open this facility, which is a significant addition to sports provision in Strabane and will enhance the experience of the many user groups who use the Melvin Complex,” he said.

“It is particularly good news for the boxing clubs, who now have a permanent home, as well as access to a state-of-the-art hall that is equipped to host a variety of indoor sports and events.

“I would like to thank Sport NI and the National Lottery, whose generous funding made this project possible, and Council officers and all the venue’s stakeholders who worked together to ensure the finished development meets the needs of all users.”

For full details of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s leisure facilities, and to book classes and activities, visit: derrystrabane.com/leisure.