An expected £4m profit from Wales’ qualification for the Qatar World Cup will be invested in grassroots football by the nation’s governing body.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) says its vision is to create “a leading football nation”.
FAW chief executive Noel Mooney described current grassroots facilities across Wales as “particularly poor”.
“Our key strategic objective is to tackle this now,” said Mooney.
“We want to build grassroots clubs across Wales that act as wellness spaces for the community and to drive the Welsh football movement forward through health, culture, music, language, sustainability, equality, diversity and inclusion.
“We cannot do this without significant support from Welsh government, local authorities and DCMS [UK government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport] but today we demonstrate our complete commitment to addressing the chronic issues in Wales’ grassroots football facilities to enable girls and boys to play football in decent conditions.”
Mooney also echoed the FAW’s overall aims of Welsh football being “inclusive, accessible and successful – from park football to the world stage – a global, local Wales”.
He has previously described lower-tier facilities in Wales as “Third World” and “horrifying” with £300m of investment needed for approaching 1,000 local clubs.
Wales qualified for the November tournament in Qatar thanks to their play-off final win over Ukraine in June 2022, a victory which ended the country’s 64-year wait for a World Cup appearance.
Captain Gareth Bale, whose deflected free-kick proved decisive against Ukraine, has backed the fresh investment, saying: “We are delighted that qualifying for the World Cup also means that grassroots clubs across Wales will benefit as the FAW support the development of inspirational, fit-for-purpose facilities.”