Pembrokeshire football sides can return to action on November 9th.

Following today’s Welsh Government announcement regarding the set of national restrictions that will be in place when the current fire-break ends, the FAW have confirmed that football activity will resume at ‘Phase 3’ from next week.

In a letter to all clubs below Tier 1 (the JD Cymru Premier), the organisation said: “This will mean that friendly matches can resume for all levels of football.

“The removal of local lockdowns will ensure that no restrictions will be placed on players of any age participating in training or matches, volunteers facilitating football opportunities will also be able to travel to support football activity.

“Whilst local lockdowns have been removed, matches should still take place on a local or regional basis either against teams within the same league or within the same local authority.”

Back to business:

The news will come as a great relief to clubs in Pembrokeshire and beyond.

The rule of 30 will still apply, which will mean complexities and a limited number of subs per squad. But having been made to wait so long for a return to action only for the original scheduled return date in October to be scuppered, the chance to simply play again will be relished by many.

Whether any kind of league season can take place will remain to be seen. There have already been hints at another potential national lockdown around January which would only serve to make things more difficult.

However, for now at least, there is light at the end of what has been an extremely long tunnel.