Premier League football in Wales is a ‘double-edged sword’ that is drawing fans away from the national team, one of the country’s top football bosses claimed yesterday. Football Association for Wales (FAW) chief executive Jonathan Ford said that, while fans were ‘packing’ the Cardiff City Stadium and Liberty Stadium on a weekly basis, it meant that, in a tight economy, he had to ‘fight hard’ to get supporters to watch Wales.
Premier League football in Wales is a ‘double-edged sword’ that is drawing fans away from the national team, one of the country’s top football bosses claimed yesterday. Football Association for Wales (FAW) chief executive Jonathan Ford said that, while fans were ‘packing’ the Cardiff City Stadium and Liberty Stadium on a weekly basis, it meant that, in a tight economy, he had to ‘fight hard’ to get supporters to watch Wales.
Mr Ford was speaking on a panel with Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay and chairman Mehmet Dalman called Wales: A Premier Destination at the Event Wales International Conference 2013 at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Asked about the impact of having two Premier League football clubs in Wales, Mr Ford said: ‘It’s actually a double-edged sword for us. It’s inspiring all of the kids to pick up a football, play football, join their local club and come through the league system. As an event, it’s arguable it is bringing many away from national teams. There’s only so much money in the economy.’
‘People are packing the Cardiff City Stadium; it means we have to fight hard to get people to watch the national team.’ He added that while 10 or 15 years ago people in Wales got their best quality of live football from watching the national team, now ‘you come to watch your best football at the Cardiff City Stadium or Liberty Stadium’.
Cardiff chairman Mr Dalman said clubs Cardiff and Swansea had not even scratched the surface of potential revenues from being in the Premier League, adding the Bluebirds would be targeting Asia and North America in the coming months.
Mr Dalman said: ‘What people don’t seem to realise is the Premier League is massive globally. It hasn’t really scratched the surface of what it can achieve. You look at the NFL in the USA. There are 350 million people in the US and it has revenues of just over $10bn.’
‘We have a fan base of eight or nine billion globally. We have revenues of over £1.2bn in the Premier League or thereabouts. The growth potential is massive and something very applicable to us.’
The interesting question is how much it is possible to extend the appeal of clubs like Cardiff and Swansea given the big lead established top clubs have in terms of brand recognition. Gimmicks like changing the colour of Cardiff shirts will not do it, although it may be that the club will attract a following in Malaysia.