PLANS to bring a national football museum to Wrexham are progressing, the Welsh Government has said.

Wrexham Museum has been chosen as the preferred location for the museum, but the plans have stalled over concerns about the age, size and scale of the Wrexham Museum building.

However, the Welsh Government said it has held "positive discussions" with Wrexham Council and allocated funding towards the creation of the dedicated national football museum.

As a long-time supporter of the project, local Assembly Member Lesley Griffiths recently wrote to the Welsh Government on the matter and received an update from the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM.

The Welsh Government has allocated the funding to develop a business plan, enabling Wrexham Museum to appoint technical support in order to develop “engaging, appropriate and sustainable” plans for the football museum.

A number of stakeholders including Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum of Wales and a new Sporting Heritage panel, which will be a UK first, will be involved in developing the proposals, ensuring they work for both Wrexham and Wales.

The Deputy Minister expects a full business case to be submitted by the summer.

Lesley Griffiths AM said: “Wrexham is the rightful home of Welsh football which makes it the prime location for a museum dedicated to the beautiful game.

“Discussions have been taking place for a number of months and I am determined to see the proposals become a reality.

"Securing this Welsh Government investment would be a fantastic boost not just for Wrexham but for North Wales in general.

“I am grateful to the Deputy Minister for his latest update and I will continue to monitor developments and champion Wrexham’s case.”

A 2018 report by Just Solutions, commissioned by the Welsh Government, estimates the cost of creating the site in Wrexham to be £4.4m and would involve redeveloping Wrexham Museum.

It will also cost the Welsh Government approximately £144,500 per year to go towards running costs.

The leisure consultants believe that approximately 80,000 visitors would visit the museum each year.