Welsh football museum gets £5m funding boost

Plans for a Welsh national football museum have received a £5.4m boost from the Welsh Government. 

The money will go towards the creation of the Museum of Two Halves in Wrexham, which last year became Wales' newest city.

The Football Association of Wales was formed in the city in 1876.

More recently, Wrexham AFC has been the talk of Welsh football after Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the club in February 2021.

Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport Dawn Bowden said: "Wrexham is the birthplace of Welsh football so it's the ideal location to celebrate the sport's heritage."

The museum, which is set open by 2026, will display a wide range of Welsh football memorabilia, including some of the 2000-plus items currently held in Wrexham's museum archives.

Jonathan Gammond, project manager of the Museum of Two Halves, said the museum will be "about any football played in Wales or any football played by Welsh people outside Wales". 

He added: "All aspects of the game will be covered: amateurs, professionals, men and women, different nationalities and minorities – everyone who loves the game."