THE Football Association of Wales' restructure of the women's league has dealt an Abergavenny club a "devastating" blow, says Monmouth MS Peter Fox.

Abergavenny Women’s FC have been in the top league for nine years, winning twice in that period.

In this most recent season, they finished fourth, but have still been demoted to the second tier in the restructure.

The club has launched a campaign to emphasise what it sees as the unfairness of the decision - it appealed but has been told nothing can be done - and Mr Fox has also criticised the restructure plans.

“I am deeply concerned by this disturbing development and, as a result, it should come as no surprise to the FAW that the local community is outraged," he said.

“It makes little sense that, despite the club finishing in fourth position, it has unjustifiably been overlooked from participating in the Welsh Women’s League. This is nothing short of a devastating blow.

“Abergavenny Women’s FC consistently upholds the true value for sport and is a vital asset to the Monmouth constituency."

Mr Fox has written to the Welsh Government to explore whether this "unfortunate circumstance" can be rectified.

In his letter - to deputy minister for arts and sport Dawn Bowden MS, Mr Fox calls what has happened to the club "grossly unfair".

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"The main nub of the issue is that the decision made by the FAW is based on a number of factors, not necessarily the history of the club's involvement in the game, nor their achievements on the field, whereas the club's position is that football is a competitive game and that positions in the league structure should be based primarily on results and achievements in promoting the women's game in Wales.

"Another issue is that the FAW is not prepared to release the scores allocated by panel members to each of the clubs that applied for Tier 1 status.

"...I'm sure you would agree that this just doesn't feel right and needs to be challenged at the highest level. I do hope you will be able to raise concerns with the FAW and as a result find a fair solution - one that recognises the success of Abergavenny Town Women's club and is determined on merit."

Club secretary Stuart Summers said: “We’re absolutely gutted. We’ve performed consistently during the nine years in the league and have been the fourth best team and yet we’re being relegated.

“We punch above our weight for a small market town. We don’t have the backing of some of the clubs who are associated with the bigger men’s teams.

Mr Summers and the club are unhappy with the decision - believing it to be unfair - and have started a campaign on social media after pleas to the Football Association of Wales (FAW) to allow them to see their scoring matrix for the decision were refused.