As chairman of CPD Llanrhaeadr FC I would like to extend a warm welcome to the committee, players and supporters of Penrhyncoch here to Tanllan. It is great to see visiting teams back here in the Tanat Valley and it seems right that we face a Mid Wales friend for our first competitive game for eight months. Croeso yn ôl i Dyffryn Tanat – braf iawn yw eich gweld unwaith eto.

Well, where shall we start? Firstly I hope you are all well and keeping yourself safe. They have certainly been strange times and ones that nobody could have predicted. It is a good feeling getting ready for a game of football once again. Lots have changed over the last few months. Firstly I would like to welcome joint manager Nick Jones on board. Croeso i Llan Nick and I hope you enjoy your stay here with us. I would also like to congratulate Calum Vaughan on his rise up to the coaching staff from within the club. Both Marc and Nick have been going through their B licence despite the lockdown and I am really pleased to announce that both have gained their B licence awards. A massive well done from everyone from the club.

There are several new faces on the playing front. A warm welcome to Dan Weir, Liam Sklenar, Frankie Arkwright, Harrison Lewis and Ryan Morgan who have all joined recently. All have considerable talent and we can’t wait to see you all perform in a Llan shirt. I hope you enjoy your time here with us.

Unfortunately, our reserve team no longer exists. The creation of the FAW Reserve league and the proposed structure of last season of playing in a league of 6 teams did not prove popular with many of our players and they decided to go and play elsewhere. We as a club tried to gain an exemption from the league, but the FAW refused our application. So, this season it meant that we could no longer field a team. This is incredibly sad and we as a club are committed to get local football back her in the village. Plans are already underway to get local lads playing local football back here in Llan next season. We will keep you updated.

The pandemic has also forced us to make changes to the way that supporters come to the game. The guidelines now state that you the supporter must now inform us of your intention of coming to the game. We now have a maximum limit in terms of the amount of supporters that can come to the game – and we must adhere to this. Temperature tests must be administered before entry as well as the completion of a medical questionnaire. Please bear with us – it is our aim to keep everyone safe from illness.

Finally, it is great to have football back here in Llan with supporters present. However, there is an awful lot of work that has gone on to ensure that the game can go ahead. I would like to thank Dei and Gareth for all the work that they do to keep the ground looking so well. A big thank you to all who come along during work parties and finally to Phil and Huw who have helped me to try and plot a path through the past 12 to 18 months of the pandemic. It has been a trial and hopefully soon we will come out the other side.
Good luck to both sides today and I hope you all enjoy the game.

Mwynhewch y gem.

Yours in sport

Mel
Cadeirydd
CPD Llanrhaeadr