THE Football Association of Wales have tweaked their guidelines regarding friendly fixtures ahead of a possible start date for the new season.

Clubs across the region were left dismayed by the governing body’s initial announcement surrounding warm-up games, which stated that teams were only allowed to travel to take on other squads from their own league.

This was met with derision by respected figures across the North Wales footballing community and has led to the FAW rethinking their strategy on this controversial topic.

As part of phase three of their return to football initiative, the FAW added that friendlies between teams in the same county are also permitted to take place, in addition to taking on teams from the same league should they wish.

It appears likely that clubs will go for the new ruling given that friendlies between rival clubs in the same league are a rare occurrence in normal circumstances.

There is still no confirmed start date for any football below the JD Cymru Premier, which was granted elite athlete status by the Welsh Government.

This enabled them to get their campaign underway earlier this month, but things look far less promising for any club operating in tier two or below.

The timetable indicates that it will be mid-November at the earliest before the season is permitted to start, and with coronavirus cases surging across the country, this appears to be the best-case scenario thanks to additional measures being put in place and certain regions going into local lockdowns.