A MID Wales football league could remain under a revamp of the Welsh football pyramid.

That’s the hope of the general secretary of the Spar Mid-Wales Football League Phil Woosnam but one club chairman has said he fears if the league is scrapped it could be “the death of mid Wales football”.

The overhaul, which will see the Welsh Premier League remain with 12 teams, will create two championship conferences immediately below it from the 2019/20 season. The two conferences with 16 teams each would be split into ‘North & Mid’ and ‘South & Mid’.

The intention is that the the championship conferences would contain sides that meet the criteria for promotion to the JD Welsh Premier League (WPL) and the champions of both would replace the two clubs relegated from the WPL each season.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW), which currently only controls the WPL, would then for the first time directly control the second tier of Welsh football.

The current fourth tier of the Welsh pyramid would be dissolved with clubs going back to play in regional leagues.

At present there are 161 teams in the top four tiers of Welsh football but under the new structure there would be just 108 teams in a three tier pyramid

The restructure agreed by the FAW would see four 16-team leagues established at tier three of the game in Wales from 2020/21. Their champions would be eligible for promotion to the tier two championships and there would also be play-offs for two reaming promotion places.

But clubs could lose their existing place in the pyramid if their ground infrastructure isn’t up to the standards demanded. Some clubs fear hefty bills to meet the criteria though some grants to support improvements are available.

Powys clubs have called for clarity on whether one of the tier three leagues, that would have a total of 64 clubs, would be designated as a mid Wales league.

The current 16-team Spar Mid Wales League Division One, in which Radnorshire is represented by Radnor Valley, Knighton Town and Llandrindod Wells, is currently at tier three in the structure and the champions can be promoted to the north Wales Huws Gray Alliance league, one step below the WPL.

In the south the Welsh League, which has three divisions, make up the second, third and fourth tiers of the Welsh pyramid. Brecon Corries currently play in the South Wales Senior League at the fifth tier.

Mid-Wales league boss Mr Woosnam said it’s hoped should the league be able to continue as a tier three league its champions could chose promotion to either the north or south championship division, depending on their geographical location.

He said: “They would have the choice of whether their particular club could go into the north or south so Llandrindod, Builth or Presteigne, say, could decide to go south and clubs in the north might want to join the north league.”

Mr Woosnam, who is the representative for Central Wales clubs on the FAW, said he believed the Powys and Ceredigion region probably has enough teams that can meet the criteria, such as having a 100-seater stand, to play at tier three so that it could form its own league in the new pyramid.

Common complaints against the existing structure of Welsh football have included an imbalance between the number of clubs and leagues in certain regions, inconsistencies associated with promotion and relegation and long travelling distances involved.

Mr Woosnam acknowledged whatever structure is put in place mid Wales clubs will still face long travelling distances but said some clubs aren’t keen on what has been proposed.

“We’ve had a full league meeting about what has been proposed and the majority are probably against it, although it did favour some clubs such as Hay who would probably be better off playing in the south.”

“We’d hope to get enough clubs in mid Wales to maintain our tier three level.”

At the beginning of the current season the difficulties faced by mid Wales clubs was laid bare when former Welsh Premier League side Rhayader Town opted to give up its place in the Second Tier Huws Gray Alliance League. It said it struggled to recruit a squad willing to travel to away game as far away as Anglesey and the Wrexham area and the club is now playing at recreational level in the Watson’s Mid Wales (South) League.

Also at the start of the season Hay St Mary’s asked to take relegation from Spar Mid Wales division one to two, citing concerns over travelling and the attraction of playing in a division including local rivals Builth Wells, Brecon Northcote, Presteigne St Andrews, Newbridge-on-Wye, Talgarth Town and Penybont United.

Knighton Town chairman Gary Cooper said local rivalry is important to football clubs and fears that could be lost.

“We’d like to keep a mid Wales league. It would be a lot of travelling for us if we were asked to go in the south, we’d be away every other week and if we were asked to go north there would still be a couple of mid Wales sides up north but we would still miss our local derbies.”

The Radnor Robins chairman said the club had a crowd of 500 for its Christmas fixture with Radnor Valley.

“The local derbies are very good financially as they pull in a lot of local support and we could lose out on that. It would be a struggle for us to get a team out if we had to travel every other week to the bottom of south Wales or the very top of north Wales.

“I think they should look at keeping the Spar Mid Wales League as it is,” said Mr Cooper who accepted the club will still face long journeys if it is promoted to the Huws Gray which he described as a “big step”.

But he said he fears the possible disappearance of a mid Wales league.

“It would be the death knell of mid Wales football if it went ahead. If there is a mid Wales league you can still play your local derbies and attract local players.”

New Radnor-based Radnor Valley, who are currently the top team from Radnorshire, play at the village primary school, having won promotion from the recreation Watson Mid Wales League South just over three years ago.

But the club estimates it could have to spend anywhere between £50,000 to £100,000 to make the necessary ground improvements which for it would include erecting a stand, floodlights and a PA system and even turnstiles and said it is resigned to having to play at tier four when the restructure impacts its level in the 2020/21 season.

A club spokesman acknowledged ground improvement grants are available but said some clubs will miss out and said it fear is the gulf between the football pyramid and recreational level will become even greater.

The spokesman said: “We are concerned about the long term detrimental effect it will have on our club and also our players. We are a local ‘village club’ who have solidified our position in the Spar Mid Wales League and currently the top team in Radnorshire by our league position.

“However the FAW now approving a restructure and no definite plans of where any club in mid Wales will be playing again provides a concerning time for clubs.

“We were playing in Mid Wales South a little over three years ago, with back to back promotions we find ourselves competitive in a league. We don’t want to go backwards as a club, but only seek movement forward. Hopefully with the FAW’s aid clubs like ourselves can progress, rather than deterring us.”

Anthony Thornley, the head coach of Brecon Northcote, who are a division below Radnor Valley, having come out of the Mid Wales South League last season, expressed similar fears. He said the club would also have to erect a stand, which he hoped its landlords the Brecon Sports Association would allow, but in the meantime could temporarily relocate to the Penlan athletics track.

Mr Thornley said lots of clubs from all across Wales could find themselves displaced by the reorganisation: “We’ve battled hard to get into the pyramid and we could be kicked out.

“If we couldn’t get the ground improvements done we could be one of those clubs never able to enter the pyramid again.”

Mr Thornley said clubs are still awaiting further information on how the tier three leagues will be structured but said the FAW had tried to resolve inconsistencies between the various leagues.

Brecon Northcote are the southernmost club in mid Wales football but their league includes teams in Aberystwyth and as far north as Dolgellau.

“I think the furthest we have to travel for an away game is 86 miles but at tier three in the Wrexham area all the clubs are in a 36 square mile radius.”