FAW boss would welcome grassroots football summer trial

The head of the Football Association of Wales (FAW) would welcome grassroots leagues wanting to trial playing games in the summer.

Noel Mooney's comments come after a wet winter in which the FAW said 6,000 games had been called off because of the weather and inadequate facilities.

Youth football clubs have called for greater access to all-weather pitches.

Mr Mooney urged governments and local authorities to consider the benefits of investing in improved access to sport.

Mr Mooney, who joined the FAW in 2021, admitted he was initially "pretty shocked" at the "poor" standard of grassroots football facilities in Wales.

"Thankfully, we're taking steps in the right direction, but we've a hell of a long way to go," he told BBC Wales.

The FAW said £498m is needed in the long term to improve facilities in Wales, including on artificial pitches, pavilions and upgrading grass pitches.

It is a sum well beyond the means of the FAW, whose income stream fluctuates significantly depending on whether or not its teams qualify for major tournaments.

Several grassroots players and coaches BBC Wales spoke to expressed frustration at how their matches had been affected by the wet weather.

They said some existing 3G facilities were not fully utilised, either for logistical or cost reasons, while grass pitches were sometimes poorly maintained due to council budget cuts.

Rhys Williams helps run the Nantyglo Under-10 girls team in Blaenau Gwent, and said the growth of girls and women's football has led to an increased demand for a limited number of pitches.

"The majority of teams play on grass pitches so we're at the mercy of the Welsh weather," he said.

But moving to the summer would mean fewer opportunities for children to continue playing sports during the winter months.

"[The solution] would be more availability of all-weather surfaces," he said.

Kayla, 10, has been playing for four years and said "football is my life".

"I get angry and upset [when games are called off]. I want to play in any weather," she said.

Others think the postponements are part of the game.

Sam, 16, who plays for Halkyn Under-16s in Flintshire, does not think summer football is the answer, saying "you get used to" games being called off because of the weather.

"It's football tradition that it's played in the winter," he said.

But Gareth Thomas, chairman of Halkyn Juniors Football Club, said it had been another "shocking" winter of weather, adding teams could go "three to four weeks without a game".

Although the club are "lucky" to own their own grass pitch, training costs on 3G facilities can still be prohibitive.

"Just to train three sides here is the best part of £150 a week," he said. "For me it's killing grass roots football."

Mr Mooney called for greater investment "by governments and other stakeholders".

"We fully appreciate that there's a cost of living crisis, that budgets are stretched," he said, warning of the "danger of not investing in football".

"[They're] going to have a lot less to spend on beds, on crime, and all the services that go along with the dark side of life," he said.

"Football brings light… every pound that goes into that, there's a multiplier effect in terms of good for society in Cymru."

Another solution that may require less investment in artificial pitches is changing the football calendar, by emulating some Nordic countries and moving games to the summer months.

The need to "adjust for climate change" and extreme winter weather means the FAW is open to different parts of Wales - or different age groups - trialling the idea, Mr Mooney said.

"It would be foolish and wrong for us not to consider doing things differently," he added.

"Maybe there's a league out there that wants to try and see what it would be like to play at different times of the year."

A Welsh government spokesperson said: "Through our annual funding to Sport Wales, we remain committed to supporting grassroots sports clubs across Wales, which we know are integral to our nation's health and wellbeing.

"In the last year, this funding has allowed Sport Wales to invest in the region of £2.5m in grassroots and elite facilities for the benefit of football clubs across Wales - which includes its energy savings grant, a pitch collaboration group for multi-sport pitch development and a crowd-funder scheme."