An independent report looking at Windsor Park's suitability for international football will say the stadium is a significant fire risk.

A large section of the Belfast stadium's South Stand is a wooden structure and the report will warn of the dangers of a serious fire breaking out.

The report could also have implications for stadium owners Linfield's latest Uefa licence application.

The Irish Football Association is due to get a copy of the report today.

The IFA chief executive, Howard Wells, said he would not comment until he had seen the report, which was commissioned by Linfield and funded by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland.

A report in the Sunday Lifenewspaper suggested Linfield and the IFA appeared confident the British government would be prepared to pay for "patching up" Windsor in the short term.

Northern Ireland's next home game is against Wales on February 6th, and last month the IFA said they were confident the game would go ahead despite concerns caused by storm damage to the North Stand over the Christmas period.

Wells did, however, acknowledge his concerns about the South Stand.

"You wouldn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that you've got a problem (with the South Stand)," he said.

"I've always been staggered that smoking has been allowed there but that has been a problem with legislation in Northern Ireland which has been beyond our control."

Concerns over Windsor Park come amid increased government urgency in regard to the Maze Stadium project, on the site of the old Maze prison.

Last week, the Mott MacDonald HOK Sport Team was announced as the winner of the international competition to design the multi-sports arena.

The British government will not, however, make the final decision until the end of the year on whether to build the stadium, although the football, rugby and GAA governing bodies have all committed to the project.

But in the meantime, there will be increasing concerns about Windsor Park's suitability for Northern Ireland games, given that its current capacity of 14,000 could be reduced to a figure that would make internationals unviable.

It has been reported that Linfield's latest application for a Uefa licence is scheduled to be made before the end of this month.