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As a
Cardiff City fan, it seems to be a general rule that I
shouldn’t take any notice of the Welsh Premier. In fact, the
only time most Bluebirds mention the league is when debating
why they shouldn’t be in it, with a supporter of a fellow
Nationwide League club.
I
though, have followed the league closely for several years,
and despite not supporting a Welsh Premier Club have grown
increasingly frustrated by the lack of coverage the national
and local media in Wales give it.
Our big
money chairman has hardly helped proceedings either. Despite
coming in with a “Welsh not Cardiff” attitude (don’t get
me started on that!), the Welsh Premier has been left hating
City even more! Hammam’s recent announcement that ‘his’
club would be pulling out of the F.A.W Premier Cup is likely
to cost the leagues clubs £1000’s – don’t forget this
competition, which is now looks set to fold, once kept Barry
Town as a professional outfit.
The
growth of Wales’ national team, and the rise of two of
Wales’ ‘exile’ clubs (ha ha Jacks!), has given the
nation a football boom. The sport now appears to have taken
over Rugby Union as the ‘national game’, and media
coverage and merchandise of Welsh football being sold are at
their highest ever.
Still,
despite this media boom surrounding the beloved game –
Wales’ national league is still seen as nothing more than a
whim among the average armchair sports fan in the
Principality.
Apart
from the Welsh Cup Final, and a few carefully selected F.A.W
Premier Cup games, Welsh Premier clubs do not get any live
television coverage at all. The highlights package fans are
offered is little more than a filler on a Welsh-speaking egg
chasing show, and the majority of the nations papers give the
whole of the pyramid not a lot more than a column, usually
next to a double-page spread on Sam Hammam’s favourite brand
of soap.
Now,
please don’t get me wrong. I’m not claiming that the back
of every British tabloid should read “Cwmbran late strike
sinks Rhyl” or anything like that. But the league certainly
deserves far more recognition than the 3 minutes S4C slot, and
30-word press article it gets at the moment.
The only
decent coverage the league does get is in ‘Y Cymro’
newspaper. Sadly, this paper is only available in certain
parts of Wales, and is written entirely in Welsh, and is
therefore only catching the attention of a small percentage of
the nation.
The
night before I wrote this article, Barry Town got eliminated
from the European Cup, despite a commendable 2-1 victory over
FC Vardar. The European Cup is arguably the World’s greatest
competition. Its games are shown all over the world. Children
all over the continent dream of playing, to win the famous
trophy. Yet – Barry’s participation in this competition, a
match which could take them closer to participation amongst
Europe’s elite, is given next to nothing in the press, next
to nothing on television, and next to nothing on the wireless.
I’m
not really sure who to blame for this to be honest. The media
do not show the league enough coverage, but still, games of a
semi-professional standard with 200 crowds are not something
they are likely to begin going into in great depth now,
especially as the league is about to enter it’s eleventh
season.
The
finger can be pointed at the league itself. They have not made
the product of a potentially excellent league look any better
than a Lancaster Pubs Sunday League for the Over-50’s.
The
league’s official website is a prime example of the
negligence of the Welsh Premier’s directors. The site is
barely ever updated, and would not exactly encourage any new
supporters to flock down to their nearest Welsh Premier
ground. The site includes a home page message from Mr. John
Deakin, which is no more than a desperate plea for the league
to find a sponsor (it now has – another sign of how long ago
it was updated!), and the sites other pages are either not yet
finished, or not up-to-date.
I grow
increasingly worried about whether or not the leagues
directors actually want to see the league get any success at
all. There lack of action makes me think that they are happy
with the early European exits, low crowds, pathetic coverage,
and a distinct lack of public interest.
Major
changes will undoubtedly have to be made if the Welsh Premier
League is to come close to moving out of the shadow, that
Wales’ “big three” exile clubs provide it with.
To do
this, the league is going to have to make changes to attract
Wales’ media. Whether this be a change in the number of
teams in the division, cheaper match tickets, a new format for
the pyramid or something else – It is clear something has to
be done, and the league really must take risks to move
forward.
Answers
on a Postcard…
Chris O'Brien www.bttb.tk
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