CWMBRAN Town and the 17 other League of Wales clubs are set to share a windfall of around £500,000 as a leading car company prepares to sponsor the league.

All 18 clubs will get £26,000 each if the money-spinning deal gets the expected thumbs-up from LoW clubs when they meet later this month, the Argus understands.

However, league chiefs are staying tight-lipped about who the sugar-daddy actually is - with the recent Honda debacle fresh in the memory.

The Japanese car giant pulled the plug from their proposed sponsorship of the LoW because all the details were leaked to the media - and Welsh football's top brass are doing all they can not to let that happen again.

League chairman Iwan Jones confirmed: "There is something in the pipeline but we are not going to divulge anything.

"The league will have a meeting with all the clubs on September 23 and if everyone is in agreement we hope to have a press launch on the 27th.

"Honda apparently pulled-out of their deal because the media leaked the story so we don't want anything like that happening again."

The league has been crying out for a major sponsor for almost a decade and this will be music to the ears of all Welsh clubs.

Cwmbran Town won the inaugural LoW in 1992/93 when it was sponsored by Konica - but it was only backed for a couple of years until the photographic company pulled out.

Since then the prize money has been minimal and last season's champions Barry Town only scooped £3,000, runners-up TNS banked just £2,000 while third-placed Bangor City took home £1,000 - as well as a place in Europe.

But this new proposed sponsorship deal is likely to inflate prize money, enabling Welsh clubs to really compete in European competition.

The firm involved in the deal will also apparently allow LoW officials and staff and players at LoW clubs cut-price car leasing.