National Football Museum for Wales receives major funding boost
A new national attraction being developed in Wrexham has received a multi-million pound funding boost.
The Museum of Two Halves, which includes a fully refurbished and enhanced Wrexham Museum in the current building, alongside a brand-new National Football Museum has received more than £2.7m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Work is currently well underway on the refurbishment and redevelopment of Wrexham Museum, transforming it into a brand new national attraction due to open in 2026.
The project aims to combine the town’s sporting heritage and football’s popularity to increase an understanding of the history of the sport in Wales and engage new audiences.
Wrexham Association Football Club is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world. The museum will house a permanent display of the Welsh Football Collection for the first time in 24 years.
90% of the collection is of national and international significance, with one quarter of the items being considered particularly rare or unique in nature, including John Charles’ debut shirt for Wales v Ireland from March 1950, and a cap awarded to Billy Meredith, a pioneer of Welsh football, having played for both Manchester City and Manchester United alongside Wales, and retired aged 50.
Funding made possible by National Lottery players, means the museum can go ahead with the purchase of a significant Welsh football collection previously held in a private collection. This includes an unrivalled collection of material relating to Cardiff City’s 1927 FA Cup final victory and an impressive variety of Wales men’s international match programmes, the earliest dated 1901.
Wrexham County Borough Council Lead Member for Partnerships and Community Safety, Cllr Paul Roberts said: “This is huge news for Wrexham. The new museum is set to become a major new national attraction for the city, drawing new visitors from all over Wales and beyond, and playing a key role at the heart of Wrexham’s burgeoning tourism and cultural offer.
“The money raised by National Lottery players is going to help us transform one of our city’s landmark buildings into a world class venue where the rich history of our county borough will be celebrated alongside the eventful story of Welsh football, preserved for future generations to discover and enjoy for years to come.”
To help gain public engagement a national survey campaign has been launched so that people can get involved to give their input and help develop a groundbreaking brand for the new attraction.
A survey has been created that will take around five minutes to complete and is designed to help the project team develop an original, exciting new brand that will raise the museum’s national and international profile.
Residents of Wrexham County Borough and football fans across Wales are invited to take part.
Complete the survey and find out more HERE
Wrexham: Museum of Two Halves
Due to open in 2026, the project will see the current Wrexham Museum building on Regent Street totally refurbished and redeveloped into a brand new national attraction.
One half will be an enhanced and expanded Wrexham Museum, dedicated to the heritage and history of the city and county; exploring the stories that shaped its communities across the centuries.
The other half will be a new Football Museum for Wales, celebrating Welsh football, past and present, in all its diversity, from grassroots clubs to the national teams, as well as highlighting Wrexham’s historic achievements in the sport.
The project is being supported with funding from Welsh Government and Wrexham Council, with additional support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Wolfson Foundation.
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