Shamrock Rovers have been given the go-ahead by UEFA to play all of their Europa League home games at Tallaght Stadium.
Tottenham Hotspur, Rubin Kazan and PAOK Salonica will all have to travel to the intimate south Dublin venue after the Hoops were given permission to play there following an inspection by UEFA officials on Tuesday.
Rovers’ officials were desperate to have the games played at their home ground, although there were suggestions that they would have to play at the Aviva Stadium to meet European requirements.
With the club set to install up to 4,000 temporary seats to bring the overall capacity of the ground to over 10,000, the move will not be necessary, news which has been welcomed by Rovers’ officials.
“It is wonderful news for us as a club, but also for the Tallaght area,” said Chairman Jonathan Roche.
“We were pushing hard to have the games played at Tallaght, and are delighted that UEFA have given us the go-ahead.
“We are very grateful to the FAI – particularly chief executive, John Delaney and the licencing department – and to South Dublin County Council, for the great support and assistance they have given us to be able to have these games in Tallaght.”
John Delaney, Chief Executive of the FAI also welcomed the news, saying: “We are delighted to have been able to assist in this process and thank UEFA for this decision which will allow Shamrock Rovers to play their Europa League fixtures at their home venue.”
Rovers’ first Europa League game will be against Rubin Kazan on Thursday 15 September at 6pm and ticket information will soon be available on the Shamrock Rovers website.
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