Welsh Town Braces for the World's Most Local Derby - Just 40 Metres Apart

They share a postcode and a playing surface is practically next door, but Cwmbran Celtic and Cwmbran Town haven't faced each other in 16 years. That changes on Tuesday when the two south Wales clubs finally meet in the Ardal South-East League, the third tier of Welsh football. While Nottingham Forest and Notts County are separated by the River Trent, and Dundee's Dens Park sits 272 metres from Dundee United's Tannadice, the Cwmbran rivals claim the shortest gap of all - a mere 40 metres between their home grounds. Celtic fan Steve Fry put it simply: "We think it's the closest derby in the UK and one of the closest in the world. It makes that distance between the Dundee grounds feel like a real trek!" Until last season, the clubs had been kept apart by a league division. Cwmbran Celtic's relegation from the second tier finally set up the fixture. Under competition rules, visitors Cwmbran Town will have to use Celtic's recently renamed Motazone Arena rather than their own changing rooms - though the grounds are literally next door. Adding spice to the occasion, veteran striker Lee Trundle - formerly of Swansea City and Wrexham - joined Cwmbran Town this summer. Fry, whose 16‑year‑old son plays for Celtic, admitted: "I've had to dig out YouTube videos to show him who he is up against. But it's fantastic for the league to have someone of that level playing here. Hopefully we'll get double our usual crowd." Whether this truly is the most local derby in football remains debatable - Paris FC's Stade Jean‑Bouin sits only 40 metres from PSG's Parc des Princes. But for glamour versus proximity, the all‑Cwmbran contest might just claim the bragging rights.