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Could club football in Wales switch to the summer months?

Noel Mooney, the head of the Football Association of Wales (FAW), has hinted at a possible trial after it was revealed around 6,000 matches were called-off over the winter.

In an interview with BBC Wales, Mr Mooney admitted the need to “adjust for climate change”, and said he would be open to seeing different parts of Wales – or age groups – trialling the idea of playing football matches in the summer months.

Mr Mooney, who joined the FAW in 2021, said he was initially shocked at the “poor” standard of grassroots football facilities across Wales.

To bring Wales up to speed, the FAW has said £498m is needed to invest and improve facilities.

Caerphilly Observer spoke to three football clubs who have all struggled to get games played due to bad weather over the years.

“Sticking plaster”

Gary Evans, chairman of Treowen Stars, told Caerphilly Observer he had mixed feelings over a summer football league, but that ultimately the bigger problem is underinvestment.

He said: “It seems to me like a sticking plaster over the fact that the money has been wrongfully prioritised into facilities such as stands and changing rooms, when it’s the pitches that need funding.

“Noel admits himself that we have a £500m shortfall, but if we focussed on drainage and improving the playing surface we’ll have more games on.”

Statistics revealed by the FAW seem to back that point up. It recently assessed pitches across Wales and found just 21% are rated at a “good” standard.

Mr Evans added: “At the end of the day, what good is a 500-seat stand if there’s no football to watch? Parents would rather be stood under an umbrella but actually watching football.”

Treowen Stars know as well as anyone how the weather can have an affect on the pitch. The club was recently awarded almost £30,000 to spend on a new drainage system.

Mr Evans also had other concerns. He said: “Are we actually going to be much better off playing in the summer? With the way things are going, we could be having summers where it’s too hot to be playing football.

“You might not get flooded pitches anymore, but we’ve had summers where our pitches are scorched. What then?”

“Cracking idea”

Newbridge Town have played just seven games this season, while the teams around them in the North Gwent Premier Division have played as many as 15.

Their secretary, Scott Burnett, welcomed the idea of summer football, telling Caerphilly Observer that the club would be “well up for the trial”.

He continued: “We’ve discussed it as a club in the past, what if you were to have a season that ran from February to October for example? Bar a few games, there’d be no cancellations.

It’s been absolutely awful here. We haven’t used the pitch since November because of the poor drainage.”

Asked if he had any concerns over player availability or a firm pitch in the summer, Mr Burnett said: “We have a football tour every June but we could push that back. You might have a few boys away here and there, but if you have a squad of 40 lads you’ll be fine.

“I think it would be cheaper too as astroturf pitches are more expensive and difficult to book than a grass one. We’d be well up for it and I think it’s a cracking idea personally.”

“It’s a tricky one”

Rod Powell has been the chairman of Nelson Cavaliers for more than 40 years, and explained how the idea of a summer league has been floated before.

He said: “It’s a tricky one for me. We manage OK with drainage up here, but there are obviously times where games are called-off.

“I have some concerns over the pitch being too hard in the summer, and also questions over when the pitch will be maintained, as it’s often difficult enough to do that in the winter.

“It isn’t a short season, people are on holidays in the summer and kids are off school. I think it would take a lot of working out so I’m not too sure.”

When asked by Caerphilly Observer if the FAW had anymore details about a potential summer trial, a spokesperson said that whilst the FAW has no official stance or policy on a summer league, Welsh football “should be open to at least discussing anything that could improve the game in Wales”, as Mr Mooney suggested.