An article in the Cambrian News dated 31/1/24 stated that Llanilar Football Club had been successful in obtaining a grant of £3,380.80 from the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and the Cymru Football Foundation (CFF) for the purchase of dugouts, goals etc. It now transpires that this is not the case.

Llanilar FC treasurer Hugh Morgan explained: “The list supplied in a press release by FAW/CFF contained an entry that Llanilar FC had been awarded a grant of £3,830.80 for the purchase of dugouts, goals etc.

“This was an error by FAW/CFF and not the fault of the Cambrian News.

“CFF officials have stated the entry related to an earlier grant application by Llanilar FC for dugouts and other equipment which was later withdrawn as CFF ruled that the grant did not cover the purchase of dugouts. It now transpires the entry was included on the list by mistake.”

Mr Morgan continued: “It now means we have to undertake other fundraising measures such as crowd funding or sponsorship which would be difficult if your readers erroneously believe we have already received a grant.

“It seems ironic that as we play in Tier 4 of the League set up, dugouts are a league requirement but no funding is available to assist cash-strapped clubs like us to conform to league requirements.

“This irony is compounded by the fact that if Llanilar FC applied to join Tier 3 of the League, it would appear that ground improvements grants are freely available to include dugouts and other major infrastructure projects.

“However given our current player development and financial position, we are not yet in a position to apply for Tier 3, despite FWA/CFF seemingly actively encouraging clubs to do so.

“It seems the FAW/CFF commitment to support grass roots football does not totally ring true and seems somewhat selective.”

A Cymru Football Foundation spokesperson said: “The grant was initially awarded to Llanilar FC to purchase goalposts despite the club applying for Team Shelters as well – as Team Shelters are not an eligible item in the application, something the club was aware of and still applied for on two occasions.

“The club then withdrew their application based on this information and are instead receiving a grant via Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund as they would not need to provide any match funding

“The application that was submitted to Sport Wales included goalposts as well as coach education funding – providing more positive impact on the club as a whole.

“We have also previously supported Llanilar FC with a grant of almost £17,500 for equipment to help them maintain their grass pitches – something they were having to pay externally for prior to this funding. “