Quote:
League of Ireland side Dundalk plan to seek permission from Uefa to play their home Europa League group matches at Windsor Park in Belfast.
Dundalk wanted to hold the games at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin but it was only available for two games with the other match set for Tallaght Stadium.
Club chairman Bill Hulsizer said on Monday this would be too expensive and Windsor Park is a suitable alternative.
An IFA spokesman said the association "declined to comment at this stage".
Dundalk have home fixtures against Molde (22 October), Rapid Vienna (26 November) and Premier League giants Arsenal (11 December).
Hulsizer revealed that splitting the games between the Aviva Stadium and Tallaght Stadium would cost the club an extra 50,000 euro.
Uefa hurdle
So the plan now is to stage the games in Northern Ireland, although Uefa prefer clubs to host ties "within the territory of its jurisdiction".
Hulsizer has a company based in Belfast and claims an employee has made contact with the Irish FA.
"We have a presence in Belfast now and the manager of our data business said he knew the boss of the IFA so he has called him on our behalf," he told RTE.
"Firstly, Windsor Park needs to confirm it's available so that we're not conflicting with something that they have scheduled.
"Then UEFA has to say we can play in another jurisdiction but it's a venue that is closer to Dundalk than the Aviva or Tallaght. We're also bringing an English team from the UK into the UK so there's logic to that I think.
"I want to get it done as fast as possible because it's unfair to my staff otherwise because there is loads of work to be done to host one of these games. It's not just a case of opening the gates and letting the teams in."
He might be in for a shock at the cost of using Windsor Park.