VAR is set to be introduced to Welsh top flight football.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) will make huge changes with the aim of improving the Cymru Premier both on and off the pitch. It has deemed VAR Lite as a cost-effective solution to the video assistant referees used in the Premier League, set to be implemented for matches with fewer than eight cameras.

Its introduction comes as a result of an investment package worth over £739,500, which will also cover professional contracts for players. And the new technology comes just months after Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker referred to the Cymru Premier as a ‘farmers' league’ - a derogatory term used to belittle leagues where the quality of football is deemed inferior.

Lineker’s comment came after Manchester United beat Newport County 4-2 in the FA Cup fourth round. He was talking about Newport’s Will Evans, who previously played for Cymru Premier teams Bala Town and Cardiff Met before signing for Newport in 2022.

The England legend said: "He was working on a farm 18 months ago and played for Bala Town. He's gone from a farmer's league to the big time in the FA Cup.”

That sparked outrage on social media, with Bala Town even getting in on the action by offering Lineker to “pop down to Maes Tegid” one day to experience their “farmer’s league”.

The league’s average attendance per game throughout the 2023/24 season stands at just 392, with the most popular club - Four Crosses Construction Arena - bringing in just 714 fans per matchday.

The Cymru Premier exists outside of the English football pyramid, which also includes Welsh giants Swansea and Cardiff City, as well as fast improving Wrexham. The EFL’s three divisions do not currently use VAR due to it being too expensive.