AN ASSEMBLY Member has called on the Welsh Government to provide further details on the development and location of a new sporting museum in Wrexham.

Mark Isherwood AM, who has been championing Wrexham as the logical location for a National Football Museum for Wales, is seeking greater detail after a feasibility study for the Welsh Government indicated that ‘a football related museum’ should be located at Wrexham Museum, rather than Wrexham AFC's Racecourse Ground stadium.

During questions to the minister for international relations and the welsh language in the chamber, Mr Isherwood called for clarity on the situation.

He said: “After the Welsh Government commissioned a feasibility study on a National Football Museum, I said here two years ago that the people of North Wales deserve to have a Welsh National Football Museum on their doorstep.

"As I had also said in the previous Assembly here, 'Wrexham has an excellent local museum, but people in North Wales can only visit one of the seven free-entry National Museum Wales sites within a realistic 60-mile radius travelling distance, whereas people in Cardiff and Swansea can visit six'.

“In supporting a national football museum in Wrexham, I also referred to the illustrious history of Wrexham's Racecourse, where the first international match was played in Wales; where the oldest international ground in the world is located; where the Football Association of Wales was formed; and home to one of the world’s oldest football clubs, Wrexham AFC.

“You issued a statement 12 days ago in writing on the ‘Future priorities relating to the Feasibility Studies on a Sports Museum and Contemporary Art Gallery’, and although the supporter-owned Wrexham Football Club had previously called for a National Football Museum to be located within the Racecourse, you stated the consultants' report, 'concluded that developing new facilities at Wrexham Museum would be the best option to create a showcase for our football heritage', and that the realisation ‘lies not (just) with the Welsh Government and discussions have now begun with the key partners’.

“You also referred to a recommendation by the consultants that this be done in partnership with National Museum Wales/Amgueddfa Cymru. So, I'll cut to my question, how will the involvement of National Museum Wales, in your view, work out?

“Are you proposing that this becomes part of the National Museum Wales or that it's a partner arm's-length organisation? And how will this impact on the physical provision within Wrexham Museum - a great museum, but quite small in size? So, are you considering relocation or enlargement, or how might you address this?”.

The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM, said the intention is that there should be a strong sporting museum in Wrexham.

He added: “The question of its location is a matter for discussion with the existing Wrexham Museum and the Wrexham Local Authority. Those discussions are still continuing. What I'm keen to ensure is that the sporting activity of Wales is represented in the regions of Wales. So, in North Wales, it would be in Wrexham."