A 96 YEAR old Newport County AFC fan and his nephew will be traveling to Wembley this Sunday, hopeful the team will break into the football league.

Chris Blight, former chairman of Newport County AFC until July last year, will be heading down with his uncle, Ron Jones, 96, who has been a member of Newport County for 89 years, to watch the club's play off to get back in the football league.

Mr Jones, from Newport, said he was "over the moon" to be going to the Wembley play off.

"I have been a member of Newport County for 89 years," he said.

"The first time I went down there, my father took me on his bike in 1924, I was seven years old."

During the Second World War, Mr Jones found football helped him through some of his darkest moments.

In October 1943, Mr Jones was sent to the Auschwitz prisoner-of-war camp to work in the IB Farben chemical factory in a synthetic petrol plant, where he remained until January 1945.

Even in those desperate times, when he worked from six till six, six days a week, he managed to find comfort in the game.

On Sundays he would play football with his co-workers, where he was the goalkeeper for the Welsh prisoner of war XI.

The Red Cross had sent the players a set of four football kits, Welsh, English, Scottish and Irish.

Thinking of what Sunday's result will be, Mr Jones said: "It will be 50:50 but I think we will do it."

His nephew, Mr Blight, 59, from Newport, said the two will enjoy a lunch with the directors of the club before taking up their seats in the Royal Box at Wembley.

"We are very excited," he said.

"I promised Ron when I became Chairman back in 2003, I would put the club back in the football league by the time he was 100 and I am hopeful that will happen."

He described the coming game as a "wonderful opportunity" to get back in the league.

"They have a great squad, a great manager, a great board of directors, but it is all down to the players and the manger on the day, so good luck to them," he said.

"The whole of Newport is behind them and every county fan up and down the country and all over the world."

President of Newport County AFC , David Hando, 75, of Newport, described this Sunday's match as a "mission."

"My mind goes back to a hot June night in 1989, when 400 people packed into the Lysaght Institute, disappointed to see our club had gone," he said.

"We were determined we would not leave Newport without a football club, so Newport County AFC was born, with the aim of returning to the football league.

"People said we had a dream, but we were not dreaming, we were workers and we had a mission and I hope by 5pm on Sunday it will be mission accomplished."

Mr Hando also said he will be remembering all those on Sunday, who had worked towards this mission but were not longer with them.

"I will be thinking of Ray Taylor, the program editor and community director and Colin Routley, the first commercial manager when we were at Spitty, who both died last year."