On Tuesday, Gresford Athletic and Cefn Druids announced that the two clubs have agreed a multi-year deal to groundshare and both play their home games at The Rock for the rest of the 2022/23 season, which will continue in the 2023/24 season onwards.

We hear your questions regarding this historic move for the club and want to provide as much transparency as possible to clear up any confusion or respond to any queries.

We have below collated some of the most common questions that we have seen and have given as much information as we possibly can to provide some more information regarding the move.

Why do the Gresford Athletic First Team need to leave Clappers Lane?

Gresford Athletic play their football in the JD Cymru North, which is the second tier of Welsh football. The criteria within this tier of the domestic game are consistently increasing season after season, with the Football Association of Wales rightly looking to continue the improvements of the quality and standards of Welsh football that has been ongoing for a number of years to bring more success and professionalism to the leagues.

As the standards improve, the criteria are becoming increasingly difficult to reach at Clappers Lane and we have had some warning signs heading towards a potential future rejection of a Tier 2 license.

Clappers Lane is shared with Gresford Cricket, which means that there is an overlap with the end of the cricket season and the beginning of football season and vice-versa. This means that home games at the beginning and end of the season have always been difficult to arrange and we are unable to guarantee to the Football Association of Wales that we would have availability for home games for every weekend of the season. This has not been too much of a problem for a number of years and we have had plenty of reversed fixtures in August during previous seasons, but we have been alerted that this would be a cause for concern for our Tier 2 license moving forward.

Due to Clappers Lane not being an enclosed ground and not having hardstanding around the pitch, with the field being open to the public, there would also be problems with this for our Tier 2 license.

Another potential issue is the inevitable requirement of floodlights within the next couple of seasons, which would prove difficult at Clappers Lane, with it being a shared facility and also available to the public. It would be a real task to manage to find a way for floodlights to work at the ground.

These are some of the reasons that would soon not allow us to use the ground and they continue to add up. Given that these potential issues are almost certainly unavoidable at Clappers Lane, the only real option was to leave the ground and find a new home.

Failure to meet the criteria could result in a rejection of a Tier 2 license, which would then result in relegation for Gresford Athletic and the inability to be promoted unless the requirements were met. We are a small, committee-led club, but also an ambitious club and are constantly looking for ways to progress and improve. Disqualification from Tier 2, relegation and no route back up the leagues was ruled out as an option by the club and a move was the step that we felt we had to take.

Why are Gresford Athletic leaving the village of Gresford? Could they not find another venue in the village?

Unfortunately, football grounds in the village of Gresford have proved hard to come by.

Of course, Colliers Park was an option within Gresford that has been considered throughout the years, but the Football Association of Wales have made it clear that competitive football is not currently granted to be played at the venue.

We also looked at Gresford Colliery Sports & Social Club, but it was deemed that we would not be able to meet the criteria at that ground, either – namely due to the fact that the pitch is too small and we are unable to reach the required size for a Tier 2 license. Also, with this in mind, there would not be enough room around the pitch to fit in our stands to meet the seating criteria.

Difficulty in meeting the criteria at Clappers Lane and a struggle to find another ground within the village that would suit the requirements meant that we had to look elsewhere. We wanted to ensure that we stayed within Wrexham and the opportunity with Cefn Druids at The Rock presented itself and provided the club with a lifeline.

Why is the groundshare with Cefn Druids? Why were they chosen over other clubs that could potentially groundshare?

Internally, we looked at a number of different grounds around the area and a number of different clubs throughout Welsh domestic leagues that could potentially host a groundshare.

We spoke to different parties and considered all of our options, none of which proved successful at this time. Cefn Druids presented itself as a good chance for us to use the facilities that a brilliant ground like The Rock offers.

The two clubs spoke and came to an agreement that suited both parties, which was signed and then agreed by the Football Association of Wales to start at the next home game.

What will happen to Clappers Lane?

Gresford Athletic Reserves will continue to play their home games at Clappers Lane. The FAW Reserve League North East does not require the same criteria as the JD Cymru North, so the club’s Reserves can continue to play at the ground and have more flexibility with the use of Clappers Lane.

Gresford Athletic Junior will also continue to be based in Gresford.

A decision on the long-term future of the two stands at Clappers Lane has not yet been made, but the ground is still in use, so they will currently remain in place until anything changes.

Will Gresford Athletic be able to groundshare with Cefn Druids for longer than one season?

The short answer is yes.

As per the FAW Handbook, which can be found at https://handbook.faw.cymru/, there is no length of time stated as to how long a groundshare can last. The rule of one season per groundshare may have been present previously, but this is no longer stated as a rule and we have confirmed our agreement with the Football Association of Wales, who have thoroughly checked and signed off the terms, including the length of the agreement.

Regarding ground sharing agreements within the FAW Handbook’s Competition Regulations of the Cymru North and South Leagues, point 30.2 states:

“30.2 Any Club which intends entering a ground sharing agreement either by sharing its own ground with another club, irrespective of whether the other club is from within or outside the League must initially submit in writing to the General Manager full details of the agreement which must then be approved by the Board before it can be accepted. Details of ground sharing agreements must be submitted to the General Manager by 1st March to be effective for the following season. In all cases where grounds are shared, the Club is to have priority of use at all times unless there are exceptional circumstances approved in writing in advance by the Board. Failure to maintain priority use will render the ground unacceptable under these Rules and in addition not capable of obtaining Tier 2 Compliance Certification.”

Will Gresford Athletic eventually merge clubs with Cefn Druids?

No. There have been no discussions regarding a merge of the two clubs and the groundshare is simply that – a groundshare.

Gresford Athletic and Cefn Druids will both play at The Rock, but will continue to be separate football clubs and operate independently on all things outside of matters regarding the groundshare.

This is a big change for all of us and we understand the confusion that people may have. We hope that we have answered some of the common queries and that people can feel that they now have some more clarity regarding the move.

We hope to see you at The Rock on 04/03/2023 for our first game at our new home ground against Prestatyn Town on matchday 26 of the 2022/23 JD Cymru North.