FA Wales currently conducts business only in English

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) Council is pressing for a change so Welsh has parity in the association's business dealings.

It follows a campaign by a Caernarfon league official who was told the FAW "conducts it business in English".

The FAW said its secretary general David Collins was unavailable for comment on the matter on Saturday.

But Welsh Sports Minister Alun Pugh welcomed the proposal, calling for a Welsh-language scheme policy announcement by the FAW.

Mr Pugh said: "In correspondence and in meetings with the FAW, I have said that the national governing bodies for sport should deal with the two languages of Wales on the basis of equality.

Now for the first time in its 130-year history the FAW are communicating in Welsh John Pritchard

"The assembly government is prepared to assist voluntary bodies via our language board, and I will be asking the board staff to contact the FAW on Monday with an offer of expert help.

"For example, it's not reasonable to expect every volunteer ref in Wales to speak both languages, but it's perfectly reasonable to ask the FAW to reply in Welsh to official letters written in Welsh"

An initial step in the policy change will mean that people writing to the FAW in Welsh will receive replies in the same language, and the body will also look into the possibility of holding disciplinary hearings in Welsh.

The issues were raised at a meeting of the 27-strong FAW council on Thursday, and will be ratified at the next meeting in July.

The language row first flared up last September when Caernarfon and District League secretary John Pritchard was told by the FAW it would only deal with a dispute he was involved in in English.

Mr Pritchard said he was "delighted" a change on the language policy was being considered.

'Ironic'

"But it's terrible really that it has taken such a challenge for them to change their minds, " he said.

His campaign on the issue started six months ago. Mr Pritchard's league fell foul of FAW rules about how many teams a player could sign for.

Caernarfon originally lost their case, but won on appeal.

"They refused us any correspondence in Welsh. We had to go and defend ourselves in English in a case which we subsequently won.

"Once we had dealt with that issue we turned to the language one," said Mr Pritchard, adding it was "ironic" that that had begun on St David's Day.

World Cup

"A lot of people who don't deal with the FAW would be unaware that they do not communicate in Welsh.

"Now for the first time in its 130-year history the FAW are communicating in Welsh.

An FAW spokesman said he was unable to confirm what had taken place at the council meeting on Thursday.