It has been much covered in the media as of late, that Wales are approaching a generation that affords their nation the best chance of some success on the international scene. They have Gareth Bale, capped over 30 times already for The Dragons and he’s hit the back of the net six times. His arrival on the Welsh international scene dates back to 2006, when Bale was aged just 16 and still at Southampton. Four years later, the left winger is plying his trade at Tottenham on the back of a PFA Player of the Year award and he’s pulling on the white shirt of Spurs well aware that Barcelona and the rest of Europe’s elite envy him and wish to sign him in equal balance.
It’s an opportunity Wales won’t want to ruin; they were fortunate enough to have Bale, as although he was born and bred in Wales, he was eligble to play for England and it was only out of failure to contact him earlier that cost The Three Lions a much needed solution to their apparent left-midfield problem that has hampered Steven Gerrard’s international career. With Ramsey captaining the new look Welsh side along with his North London counterpart heading the team towards a brighter future, Swansea’s elevation to the Premier League and Cardiff’s continual threat of entry, making the past two Championship play-offs, the future of Welsh football looks good.
If England fans feel they have had to endure 45 years of hurt then Welsh fans can consider themselves martyrs; the footballing minnows, ranked 45th after halving their distance from Spain’s #1 ranking with a 45-place jump last time the table was configured, are part of a 61-year and counting wait for World Cup football and their failure to qualify for Euro 2012 means that Wales haven’t qualified for the European Championships for 36 years now. Swansea may well offer a remedy for Wales world football woes.
Swansea’s top flight exploits have been nothing but admirable as they embark on their first ever season in the Premier League; last season, as the South Wales Echo cleverly pointed out, the average Championship team made 312 passes a game, Arsenal made 428 and Swansea made 98 more at 526.
Further still, their record of 756 in one match was not bettered by any team of the 92 in the Football League. Swansea have continued this free flowing football into the heavens of English League football; they’ve averaged 513 passes per PL game this season, 16 more than Manchester United.
I don’t want to tempt fate, but their impressive start encourages me to and I can’t help thinking further into Swansea’s Premier League future, into next year, the year after and five years down the line. Swansea’s place in the Premier League brings numerous benefits to Welsh football. Firstly, having a Welsh team in the Premier League is a milestone for Welsh football and purely by being there the interest in the sport, in a predominantly Rugby following country, should increase. Secondly, a Welsh team now has its place in, allegedly, the best league in the world and that acts as an incentive and as a club of role models for young players and Welsh children and one would expect the amount of Welsh kids taking up the sport over others will increase.
However, they are the blatant advantages, the advantages that boroughs and councils benefit from on a smaller scale when a team manages to break into the Premier League when they have never done so before. One advantage that may outweigh all other benefits put together, is the direct effect of having a Welsh team in the Premier League.
Imagine a scenario in which, not only Swansea remain in the Premier League, but Cardiff achieve promotion; if they were both in the Premier League the majority of Welshmen, as well as following their local clubs, would have an allegiance to either the Swans or the Bluebirds. This would subsequently provide a potential for both clubs to sell-out, or nearly sell-out, every week as there are no other nearby clubs. Liverpool, arguably the only club of distinguished note near Wales, is over 206 miles from Cardiff, leaving at least South Wales to choose between Swansea or Cardiff.