Llansantffraid Village has stunned local football by withdrawing from the Spar Mid Wales League - with the new season less than a week away.
The club dropped the bombshell in writing to the league on Sunday and today no club officials were available to comment on the decision.
The letter read:
“It is with regret that I now write to confirm to you that Llansantffraid Village F.C. wish to resign from the Spar League Division 1.
“This course of action has been forced upon the club by a massive loss of players.
“I apologise for the inconvenience that this will cause to you and your officers but it is a decision that the club felt was better made now than once the season was underway.”
It is understood the village club will continue to operate in the JT Hughes Montgomeryshire League next season.
It is a massive blow for a club which in 1996 captured the imagination of World football by winning the Welsh Cup and playing in the European Cup Winners Cup.
Later Llansantffraid FC was taken over by TNS FC, who went on to be renamed The New Saints. But the club reformed under the banner of Llansantffraid Village FC and has been close to returning to the Huws Gray Alliance in recent seasons.
Last week there were reports of players leaving the club to join neighbouring Llanrhaeadr.