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Page last updated at 10:55 GMT, Thursday, 23 December 2010

Welsh Premier agree league split delay

The Premier League's winter football
Snow is causing disruption to the sporting calendar

The Welsh Premier has agreed to delay when the league splits in two by three weeks due to the unprecedented amount of postponements because of the freeze.

Wales' top-flight was to split on 15 January but as only 15 games have been played in the last month, the split has been put back until 5 February.

Each club has to play 22 matches by the split - but presently Llanelli have played only 12 and Prestatyn just 14.

League chief John Deakin said: "We have virtually an unmanageable backlog"

Welsh Premier bosses voted to adopt a league split - common in the Scottish leagues - for the first time this season.

So after the halfway stage, the top half fight for the Championship title and Europe while the bottom half fight to avoid relegation.

But the big freeze and widespread snow has severely disrupted the Welsh Premier fixture list.

I want to avoid teams playing three times a week and with a three week delay, we can avoid that

Welsh Premier League secretary John Deakin

So much so that the entire card was wiped out last weekend and Boxing Day's schedule is also expected to be called off.

The Welsh League's management panel were due to meet on Tuesday to discuss delaying the split to 5 February - but, ironically, the meeting was postponed due to poor travelling conditions.

So league secretary Deakin formally emailed members to propose a delay in the split due to the 'decimation' of the league programme.

That proposal has now been ratified by the management panel and a Welsh FA statement read: "We will endeavour to get an amended January/February fixture list out between Christmas and the New Year."

Llanelli, for example, have not played a game since beating Aberystwyth Town 3-1 on 9 November while Prestatyn have not lined-up since beating Aberystwyth 4-0 on 20 November.

"The backlog is already unmanageable and given the weather forecast, it looks very unlikely that any games will be played on Boxing Day," Deakin had told BBC Sport.

"It will leave a leave a three week period to play the postponed fixtures."

The league already have 16 fixtures to rearrange without the expected Boxing Day whitewash and Deakin is keen to avoid teams playing three times a week to clear their backlog.

"Providing we get a thaw next week and can go through January and into February uninterrupted, we'll get away with that," said Deakin.



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see also
Welsh Prem consider summer switch
22 Dec 10 |  Welsh
Cold disrupts Welsh festive sport
28 Dec 10 |  Wales
'Bitterly cold' night is forecast
20 Dec 10 |  Wales
Snow problems continue for sport
28 Dec 10 |  Sport Homepage
More disruption to Scots football
22 Dec 10 |  Scotland
Big freeze disrupting Welsh sport
18 Dec 10 |  Wales
Welsh Prem clubs to play 44 games
11 Dec 09 |  Welsh
Welsh Premier
22 Jan 08 |  Welsh
Welsh Cup
05 Sep 11 |  Welsh
BBC Sport Wales coverage
03 Oct 11 |  Wales


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