Welsh Secretary David TC Davies opens Welshpool, Powys pitches

Mr Davies joined Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams and representatives from the Football Association of Wales and Welshpool Town Football Club to view the new facilities during a visit on February 9.

And he took a penalty to celebrate the pitches' opening – but missed on his first attempt on goal, before landing his second effort in the onion bag. Mr Williams, meanwhile, scored at his first attempt.

The pitches were created with the help of funding from the UK Government, as club was granted nearly £66,000 towards creating three new football pitches for junior and senior players after losing three pitches on the outskirts of Welshpool four years ago, when Powys County Council built a new school on the land.

FAW and Welshpool Town representatives open the new pitches.

Mr Williams meets Welshpool youth players.

Mr Davies and Mr Williams are shown the new pitches by club secretary Eva Bredsdorff.

Mr Davies said: “It’s hugely important for the government to show support for football in Wales, to build on the momentum of seeing the Welsh team make it to the World Cup last year.

“As a parent, I’ve seen the benefits of engagement from both boys and girls in the sport, so it’s important that we keep pushing for as much money in Wales as possible.

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“I’m very pleased to be joined by the President and Vice President of the Football Association of Wales, who have put so much work into making this a reality.”

The visitors were taken on a tour of three new pitches, which the club hopes will help them expand and offer facilities for walking football and training and matches to more women and girl’s teams.

Mr Davies is shown around the club. Pic: Phil Blagg.

Craig Williams MP slots his penalty away.

Steve Williams, president of FAW, said: “I’m delighted to see this come to fruition. It will allow Welshpool to host tournaments and give the players a real quality surface to hold their matches on.

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“There’s a correlation between the quality of a club’s facilities with how much they can grow and expand. If you can increase participation and engagement your organisation will be less fragmented, which is what we want to see for clubs across mid-Wales.”

Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams added: “This grant is one of the first of its kind Wales, so it’s significant that it come to a mid-Wales organisation in particular.

“I would like it to be one of many first timers in this area, with other new initiatives like the Bank Hub hopefully arriving soon, it would be wonderful to see mid-Wales to be at the forefront of new initiatives across the board, from the sports fields to the high street.”