Michael O'Neill says he is "certainly hopeful" Northern Ireland's long-planned national training centre can still be on course for a 2028 opening, while Conor Bradley is unlikely to be rushed back for the Nations League campaign. The IFA announced the project in February 2025, with the proposed site next to the Galgorm Resort just outside Ballymena and plans for world-class pitches and cutting-edge training facilities.
Galgorm plans and the case for the centre
O'Neill's backing is rooted in what the facility could mean for the pathway. He said it is "important that you do have a national training centre that kids are used to coming to from a young age", adding that it would show the association's intent as it continues to develop players.
He also pointed to the wider reach beyond the senior side. "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," he said.
O'Neill's view is that the project would also work for Ballymena itself. He said it "would be good for the town" and "can only enhance the town", which is a fair argument given the scale of the proposed site and the long timeline already attached to it.
Bradley's return timeline
The more immediate issue is Bradley's recovery. O'Neill said the Liverpool defender suffered a knee injury in January and is being managed carefully, with March 2027 the more realistic return point.
"I'm comfortable with that," O'Neill said, before adding: "If we see him this side of Christmas it's a real bonus, if not, we look forward to March." He also said Bradley is where he expected him to be and that the injury has taken longer than some people were thinking.
Liverpool's next three scheduled Premier League fixtures now sit inside that recovery window. Bradley has played 332 minutes in his last five Premier League appearances, with one assist in that stretch, and O'Neill's patience suggests Northern Ireland are planning without him for the immediate run of games.
The training centre remains a longer-term project, but the two strands of the story are aligned in one obvious way: Northern Ireland are trying to build for the future, and Bradley's next realistic international return is March 2027.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
