1906 football film scores plaque

The Welsh team leaving the dressing room for the 1906 match

A plaque is to be erected at Wrexham's Racecourse ground to mark what is believed to be the first surviving film of an international football match.

The Wales v Ireland game took place at Wrexham on 2 April 1906 and was captured by two early screen pioneers.

Now a commemorative plaque is to be erected at the Racecourse on the exact centenary of the game.

The plaque is the latest in the North Wales Film and Television Trail created by the Wales Screen Commission.

The silent black-and-white film, lasting just two minutes and 10 seconds, was shot by film pioneers Mitchell and Kenyon but is now lodged with the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales in Aberystwyth.

The international, which ended 4-4, was watched by a crowd of up to 6,000 and Wales player Arthur William Green, from Aberystwyth, scored a hat-trick.

Wrexham FC went into administration in 2004 and was later relegated to League Two.

The plaque will serve as a permanent reminder of the importance of sport to Wrexham Wrexham councillor Bob Dutton

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas who has been involved in the long campaign to save the beleaguered club said he was delighted that the film was being marked.

He said: "Wrexham is the birthplace of football in Wales. The Welsh FA was set up here, we have an excellent football museum - this is a huge football area by tradition."

"There's still a huge amount of football in the area and still excellent players coming through from local clubs."

"I think it's a tremendous thing for us to be able to commemorate this historic landmark in World Cup year."

"A lot of people, not just in Wrexham, not just in Wales, not just in the UK, but right across the world will be fascinated by this."

One Welsh player scored a hat-trick in the 1906 international

Deputy Leader of Wrexham council, Cllr Bob Dutton, the authority's lead member on economic prosperity, said they were also "delighted to support this historic event".

"The plaque will serve as a permanent reminder of the importance of sport to Wrexham and the national significance we have played in Wales' football history," he said.

"The fact that the first surviving filmed footage of an international match took place here is a great testament to our sporting tradition."

Richard Coombs, film liaison manager of the Wales Screen Commission in North Wales, said the film of the match was an "invaluable part of our celluloid heritage".

"We are thrilled that we are going to be able to elevate this unique footage to its rightful place as a ground-breaking and historic film."

In September another plaque in the film trail was unveiled in Snowdonia to mark the spot where the comedy Carry On Up The Khyber was filmed in 1968.