The Polarising Case Of The Millennium Stadium And Welsh Football
Since it first opened its doors in 1999 for the Rugby World Cup, Wales’ national stadium has hosted many sporting and musical events. From football to WRC, boxing to Monster Jam. The stadium is synonymous with rugby but football fans from all across Europe holding The Millennium in high regard, with many rating it as a better stadium than Wembley. So why are Welsh football fans so split in their opinions of hosting internationals in the country’s biggest and one of the most iconic stadiums in this continent?
Built as a replacement for the much-beloved but dated Cardiff Arms Park/National Stadium, The Millennium was as modern as a new build could get when it began to host events. There still isn’t a fully retractable roof to be found on any other stadium on this island, the 73,931 capacity makes for an unbelievable atmosphere, its location in the heart of Cymru’s capital surrounded by bars and clubs and not even a five minute walk to the train station, there just aren’t many better grounds to be found anywhere else. When the original Wembley was demolished in 2001 to make way for the ground we see today, all of its association football events were moved to Cardiff’s new ground. The Millennium hosted FA Cup finals, League Cup finals, Football League Play-Off finals, Football League Trophy finals and the FA Community Shield from 2001 to 2007. Fans of any club who watched their side play in Cardiff speak highly of their experience, on how easy it was to get to and from the stadium and the sheer amount of pubs right by the ground, how the atmosphere with the roof open or shut is miles above cup finals at the new Wembley. Iconic moments such as Steven Gerrard’s 35-yard volley against West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup final, described by many as the best cup final of the modern era. Many say the FA Cup final the year previously was the natural endpoint in the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United under Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. Fans of the Welsh clubs in the English set-up have had great moments in The Millennium as well. Cardiff City made it to Division One (The Championship) after an 18-year absence in 2003, beating Queens Park Rangers 1–0, resulting in pandemonium in the capital and confirmation that Andy Campbell would never have to buy himself a pint down the city ever again. Wrexham won the LDV Vans Trophy (Football League Trophy) in front of 20,000 travelling fans in 2005, with goals from Juan Ugarte and Darren Ferguson handing Southend United a back to back loss in the tournament. Swansea City went on to win the tournament a year later in 2006, with Swans legend Lee Trundle and the G.O.A.T himself Adebayo Akinfenwa taking the silverware back down west. The Champions League Final was hosted at The Millennium in 2017, seeing Real Madrid breeze past Juventus for their 12th European Cup and Gareth Bale winning his third of four UCL’s, lifting it in his home city.
From 2000 to 2009, The Millennium became the home of international Welsh football. After years of rotating between Ninian Park and The Racecourse during the demolition of the Arms Park and construction of The Millennium, which even saw some Euro 2000 qualifiers held at Anfield, Welsh football once again had a permanent home. (Some friendlies during the 2000s were still played in Wrexham and in Swansea after The Liberty opened in 2005.) A then record home crowd of 66,500 were present for Wales’ first international at the new ground against Finland in 2000, with the away side winning 2–1. Two years later saw two of our finest results of this century, with a strike from Caerphilly boy Robert Earnshaw being enough to beat Germany in May 2002. October of the same year saw Wales beat Italy 2–1 with Simon Davies and Craig Bellamy providing arguably the best result of the Mark Hughes era. Wales’ failure to reach Euro 2004 saw attendances dwindle and by the late 2000s, less than 10,000 were watching the national team in a stadium built for 70,000+. Home games were moved to the newly built Cardiff City Stadium, Llanelli’s Parc Y Scarlets and Swansea’s Liberty Stadium. Wales have played only twice at The Millennium since 2009, a Euro 2012 qualifier against England in 2011 and a friendly against Spain in 2018. The latter game highlighted for many why the switch to CCS has worked wonders for Wales, especially for the atmosphere at the match. Even with over 40,000 fans the atmosphere lacks, with many vocal fans being placed all around and many just not wanting to get up and make some noise. Whereas CCS has a hub for the vocal fans on the Canton stand, with the noise reverberating around to make more noise in a smaller space. Many credit Italy 2002 to be the best Welsh football atmosphere in The Millennium, footage below:
The fan culture that has developed in the last decade has without a doubt played a part in Wales’ fortunes changing on the pitch. Even during Gary Speed’s reign and the early days of Chris Coleman’s time in charge, the atmosphere at CCS even with half the capacity there was better than that found in The Millennium. As numbers grew and the creation of The Red Wall happened, we’ve seen some unreal moments at the new home of Welsh football. Belgium 2015, the anthem before Ireland 2017, Hungary 2019 are just some examples of when the ground was rocking beyond belief, with the fans being heard for miles around the capital. Despite this, I think that if the FAW wanted to host some fixtures in The Millennium, there are things they could do to ensure a great atmosphere. For comparison, below is a clip from Hungary 2019 in CCS:
As the Canton stand is home to Wales’ vocal support in the CCS, I believe that the North Stand in The Millennium could be designated as the hub for the fans who want to create an atmosphere. Liverpool fans who attended some of their eight finals at The Millennium between 2001 and 2006 compared the two-tiered Glanmor’s Gap to be similar to The Kop found at Anfield. This would be ideal for Welsh fans attending a game at The Millennium. Even with that in place, the FAW would have to warrant hosting fixtures at The Millennium if the demand was there. The 33,280 capacity at CCS does the job for qualifiers, but at the time of writing, Wales couldn’t sell out for their last fixture there with only 21,624 making it for the nation’s first qualifier with fans post-pandemic. On one hand, it was only Estonia who was ranked 110th in the FIFA world rankings at the time, and it being a midweek fixture making it harder for many further away from Cardiff to have the time to travel to the match. But on the other hand, it show’s that there is a sizable percentage of people who still aren’t ready to return to events like this with worries of COVID fresh in many minds. Logically the demand for a game at The Millennium just isn’t there at this moment in time. But being a five-star ranked stadium by UEFA, on the same level as grounds like the San Siro, Allianz Arena and Nou Camp, it would be silly to dismiss seeing football on that pitch again.
We are incredibly lucky to have as much choice as we do for stadiums. CCS has hosted the UEFA Super Cup and Women’s Champions League final comfortably and has become a great home for international Welsh football. Just a mile down the road is a stadium seen as many to be better than Wembley and has the credentials to host internationals once again if the climate is right for it. With all the Hollywood money being pumped into Wrexham at the moment, as soon as The Kop is redeveloped it won’t be long before we see the return of internationals up north. Let’s see where the future takes us eh?
