Northern Ireland's clash with Belarus will take place at Windsor Park in Belfast this month after entry visas were granted to the players and staff this morning.
There had been fears that the Nations League tie would not be held in Belfast because of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Following Russia's invasion, Belarus has allowed its territory to be used by the Russian military to launch attacks into northern Ukraine.
While UEFA’s restrictions stated that they would not impact the game being held in Belfast, an alternative venue in Europe was considered because of the UK government's stance that Russian and Belarusian athletes could only compete in international sports under a neutral flag. If the government had declined to issue visas, a neutral venue would have been needed to stage the game.
Irish FA Chief Executive Patrick Nelson said last month that the organisation was working hard to ensure the fixture would be held in Belfast.
"The issuance of visas to the Belarus senior men's football team in time to fulfil our scheduled UEFA Nations League fixture next month has been a well-publicised matter," Nelson told RTE Sport. "We have spent a number of weeks working to find a positive resolution to this. After significant consultation with our government stakeholders, we are now confident that the game can take place at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park on Friday, November 15."
Isaac Price of Northern Ireland (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)Nelson has stayed true to his promise, and now the sides will meet on November 15, according to the Athletic
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill will also be a relieved man after he claimed it would be "unfair" for his side to play away from Windsor Park.
"It'll be unfair on us if we're not allowed to play at Windsor Park," O'Neill said after his side’s 5-0 win over Bulgaria in Belfast during the last Nations League window to BBC Sport. "We'll end up with four away games, two of them at a neutral venue, which is far from ideal."
Northern Ireland's tie against Belarus will be followed by an away fixture against Luxembourg three days later to conclude their campaign. They currently sit at the top of their group with seven points.
