After four consecutive winters in which more than 21,800 fixtures were postponed due to adverse weather, the governing body is trialling a shift away from the long-established September-to-May season towards a March-to-November structure.
The FAW initiative—known as Project Chwarae (Project Play)—will initially focus on junior football in selected pilot areas, including the South Wales Women and Girls’ League.
The proposed calendar introduces a summer playing season with clubs and leagues taking part from March to November, with a mid-season break of four weeks expected around August, with the aim of avoiding the worst of the winter weather that has increasingly disrupted grassroots football across the UK.
The FAW will also be offering clubs another option to trial as part of Project Chwarae, which would add an eight-week winter break as part of their 2026/27 season.
To accommodate that, leagues taking part would see their season begin earlier in August, and finish in June or July.
The pilot schemes are expected to feature non-competitive junior football to begin with, although older junior leagues and adult teams could feature in future trials.
From a participation perspective, the rationale is compelling. Recent FAW data suggests that up to 30% of fixtures have already been postponed this season alone, with the figure rising to nearly half of all matches between November and February in previous years. This aligns with wider climate trends across the UK, where wetter winters have made natural grass pitches less reliable and increased pressure on already limited 3G facilities.
A spokesperson for Team Grassroots said:
“In certain locations in the UK, we’re seeing the traditional football calendar more and more impacted by the realities of the grassroots environment.
“When large volumes of games are lost every winter, it impacts player development, retention, and the overall experience. Any initiative that seeks to address that deserves serious attention, and we’re keen to see the learning that comes from the trial.”
However, as with any structural change in grassroots sport, the challenges are equally significant. A number of clubs have opted out of the pilot, citing financial and logistical concerns.
Summer months are traditionally a crucial period for grassroots clubs to generate income through tournaments and festivals—events that often underpin their financial sustainability for the rest of the year.
“We can’t ignore the economic model many grassroots clubs rely on,” a Team Grassroots spokesperson added.
“Summer tournaments are not just nice-to-have—they are essential revenue streams. Any long-term shift in the calendar would need to account for that and potentially reimagine how clubs generate income.
“Grassroots football is evolving rapidly, and decisions of this scale should be grounded in real data from players, coaches, and clubs. The key will be balancing participation, player welfare, and financial sustainability.
“Unlike the winter months, summer brings competition from other sports such as cricket, as well as family holidays and wider community activities. For multi-sport athletes and volunteers—who are the backbone of grassroots football—this could create new pressures rather than alleviate existing ones.”
The FAW, in response, has made clear that the process will be exploratory and the pilot will be voluntary, with multiple models being tested, including an alternative approach that introduces an extended winter break within the existing structure.
Speaking about the proposed changes, Ben Field, head of Grassroots Football at the FAW said:
“The statistics on cancellations are really magnified when you talk about November through to February, last year, almost 48% of fixtures were cancelled in those months.
“We’re testing a couple of pilots here because until we try something, we won’t know the outcomes.
“It’s all been through expressions of interest, so this is not mandatory and we’re not enforcing this upon any league across the country.
“What we’re doing is trying to cater for the demand of the game as it currently stands.
“The game is growing, so the investment into new 3G facilities helps us to deliver against that, but it’s not going to be sufficient to help throughout the entirety of the winter season.”
Though summer football is limited in the UK, the FAW are also hoping to learn lessons from the Republic of Ireland, who are in the process of changing their entire calendar to a summer season.
“All options are on the table for the future,” added Field.
“We’ll have to review the outcomes of those pilots… before ultimately taking that back to the FAW and its board, to maybe make some decisions longer term.”
