UEFA has approved Shamrock Rovers’ application to host home games at Tallaght Stadium in the group stage of the Europa Conference League.
Previously matches involving League of Ireland clubs have had to be held at the Aviva Stadium as the main stage of the competition in any of UEFA’s competitions requires the highest level of category 4 stadium compliance.
There will be additional measures required to comply with these requirements, with the costs likely to be met by Shamrock Rovers.
Among the requirements of Category Four are 8,000 seats, enhanced floodlighting, a minimum of 100 VIP seats, 10 as opposed to five commentary positions and 50 as opposed to 30 seats in the room used for press conferences.
The final stage of development with the building of a new fourth stand that will raise overall capacity to 10,500 has already been agreed upon.
There is a significant level of detail that goes into providing a minimum standard and it is to the credit of Tallaght Stadium, the club and the FAI that this will now be an option for Rovers and other Irish clubs.
Category 4 is the highest standard which means that the Stadium would also be able to host group stage games in the UEFA Champions League when that day might come.
