The Irish Football Association (IFA) are confident Windsor Park will be fit to stage Northern Ireland's World Cup 2006 qualifiers.

Linfield's home in Belfast has been criticised for not being up to scratch for international matches, but IFA president Jim Boyce has insisted improvements will be made ahead of the qualifiers.

Northern Ireland are due to face England, Wales, Poland, Austria and Azerbaijan, and the six nations meet in Cardiff today to work out a fixture programme.

"Windsor Park needs a lot of money spent on it, no doubt about that," Boyce said. "I have travelled extensively and there are some stadiums that make Windsor Park look like the Hilton. There are other stadiums in the eastern bloc which are quite magnificent. Government assistance has been gained to bring them up to international standard.

"We either need to get a national stadium - which we have been talking about for far too long - or find the money to upgrade the stadium to international standards.

"Having said that, there are no worries about playing at Windsor Park. UEFA have told us certain things have to be done - like the installation of a new drug room and the upgrading of the floodlights. They are not major issues and we are confident the work will be done before the start of the qualifiers."

With a national team manager yet to be appointed, Boyce and secretary David Bowen will attend the Cardiff conference. Boyce has a clear fixtures strategy in mind.

"We would like two of our first three games in September and October at home," he said. "The most important thing is that we are still in contention when we reconvene in March.

"If you lose your opening games it makes it very difficult then in the matches to come."

Meanwhile, with six months before the start of the European Championship, Portugal still lacks security planning, manpower and equipment for the tournament, the heads of police and firefighter groups have said.

In interviews with Publico newspaper published yesterday, the groups said police and emergency medical crews had seen little sign of training and €16.5 million in extra spending promised by the government.

"The truth is - communications? All we have is our mobile phones," said Jose Manageiro, chairman of the Association of Guard Professionals, which includes members of the paramilitary National Republican Guard.

Fernando Curto, head of the National Association of Professional Firefighters, said there was a nationwide shortage of firefighters, who handle emergency medical care. This was especially acute in Lisbon and Oporto, sites of four stadiums.