The Irish FA's long-held ambition of building a facility will be realised on Wednesday with the announcement that a site located next to the Galgorm Resort, just outside Ballymena, will be its location.

It is anticipated the centre will consist of elite pitches and facilities for men's, women's and youth teams, with planning permission being requested to proceed with plans for development at the County Antrim venue.

Before the official reveal of details of the venture, BBC Sport NI examines how we reached this point and what impact the construction of the facility may have on football in Northern Ireland.

How long has a NTC been in the offing and why?

Back in June 2011, IFA chief executive Patrick Nelson articulated an 'on-the-record' goal on behalf of the governing body to build a NTC for the improvement of the game in Northern Ireland.

His comments were recorded in a response to questions, external after an address to the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure at the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Nelson explained the organisation's vision that the permanent structure would be a centre which could be used by all Northern Ireland's international teams and would provide them with "the best facilities, the best sports science and the best diet and nutrition advice" as they sought to provide optimum preparation to help teams qualify for major tournaments.