AN AMBITIOUS Gwynedd football team has hit the back of the net with new kits thanks to Europe’s largest trailer maker.
Clwb Pêl Droed Llanuwchllyn (Llanuwchllyn Football Club) near Bala have taken delivery of a blue strip for home and a yellow one for away games as well as tracksuits and hoodies for team members and team officials donated by Ifor Williams Trailers.
The home jerseys, which are blue trimmed in yellow and proudly carry the team Dragon crest as well as the sponsor’s logo, were handed over to the club’s chairman, Dei Charles Jones, and star striker Iolo Jones by Ifor Williams Trailers production site manager Jak Tyrer.
Jak said: “Ifor Williams Trailers has a long tradition of supporting the local community across North Wales.
“This is the first time we have sponsored kit for the Llanuwchllyn football Club and we wish them all the best wearing the new strip on the pitch here in Llanuwchllyn and elsewhere. The club was established in 1957 just a few months before Ifor Williams Trailers was set up so it is quite appropriate to be sponsoring the teams.”
Jak himself will be wearing the kit in the coming months as he is one of 50 or so players registered with the club which runs two teams.
He said: “I’m one of the old hands among what is a young team.
“We play in the Ardal North East League and Reserve League North West, which is in the third tier of the Welsh football system and, although it’s early days, we’re playing well this season. So far, we’ve played far three league games and two cup games and only lost once.
“Last season the first team reached the second round of Cwpan Cymru and were unlucky to lose against Buckley Town and only lost the play-off game against Llay Welfare on penalties otherwise we’d be in the second tier,” he said.
“The second team finished second in the league and got to the final of league cup within the first year of registering a reserve team in 23/24.
“With all this comes a tremendous amount of work on and off the field, from players to managers to committee members who are all volunteers, so today is proud moment for business and the club.”
Iolo Jones added: “I grew up watching the club play their games here and I have been playing since I was 16. I’ve seen the club grow and now we have two teams and most of the players are local with just a few from further afield. The future’s looking good.”
Dei Charles Jones said the club was “extremely grateful” to Ifor Williams Trailers for their sponsorship.
“The company have been very generous and as a club we are extremely grateful for the new kits.
“Over the years the club has offered many local youths their first footballing experience and we wish to continue to do so. Hopefully the new kit will inspire the players to achieve our ambition of climbing to the top of the league.”
He said facilities at Cae Llan have been gradually improved over the years with a new 100-seat stand completed during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Club president John Mancini, a former player who also had a spell with Blaenau Ffestiniog during their Welsh League heydey in the early 1970s, said: “The club raised thousands of pounds in 2020 to allow the works required for the club to continue in Tier 3 after the reorganisation of the Welsh football pyramid.
“The sponsorship by Ifor Williams Trailers is another step in improving the club.”
