Ammanford AFC have been granted a £125,000 windfall to build a new stand and improve their facilities by Carmarthenshire County Council

The club will compete in Division 1 of the Welsh Football League in 2018-19 after securing promotion last season.

But the Recreation Ground side must meet criteria laid out by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), including a 250-seater stand, tea room, PA system, disabled access, floodlights, fencing and security shuttering.

The work is expected to cost £201,000 — and Ammanford applied to the council for up to £125,000 in funding ahead of a meeting on Monday.

The club was founded in 1946 and originally played in the Ammanford and District League.

It now has in excess of 300 playing members, and is said to have the largest junior club participation in Wales.

Some funding for the upgrade work has already been secured, including £39,000 in sponsorship and donations, £25,000 from the FAW and £5,000 from Ammanford Town Council.

The application was approved unanimously by the council who praised the club for their success and the work they were doing in the community.

Councillor Cefin Campbell, said: “We have to see this as an investment, not just in this club, or in football, but in a community.

“It is about health of young people as well, it is good for Carmarthenshire.”