The Reasons Why Attendances At Domestic Welsh Football Games Are On The Up, And Why They Should Keep On Growing:
After a long seventeen month absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans returned to stadiums and grounds up and down Cymru in great numbers. There are multiple factors as to why this is the case and there are reasons to suggest this rise in attendance will stay for some time.
Absence of Live Sport
Up until March 2020, fans across Cymru were following their clubs home and away, across leagues and cup competitions as they do every season. The sudden stop to what for many is a major part of their routine was one of the worst aspects of the pandemic, having more of a negative effect on mental health as many would want to admit. After such a long wait to return to watch the beautiful game in person, many have lapped up the opportunity. These might be fans of particular clubs, Groundhoppers returning to their hobby or just simply people fed up with watching sport on television and are happy to be a part of a crowd once more. This has had a positive impact on clubs from the grassroots level all the way to the highs of the Cymru Premier and even the Welsh clubs playing in the English pyramid. Ask anyone from a Cardiff fan, to a Caernarfon fan to a Caldicot fan and they’ll all just be as happy to return to live football.
Cymru Football App
The FAW released their mobile app for iOS and Android in June to coincide with the first qualifying round of the Welsh Cup and the ongoing season. It covers the Welsh pyramid from the top to the bottom, with clubs in the 8th tier being treated the same as clubs playing in the Cymru Premier. With live match updates, full player lists, attendance figures and fixture information, its had an impact on how many are watching football across all levels. Cefn Hengoed’s first Welsh Cup tie against Aberbargoed Buds last month sold out the restricted 100 capacity (capped due to COVID regulations at the time) with fans all over South Wales coming to The Graveyard, finding out about the fixture through the app. Ammanford pulled in 412 last week against Cardiff Met in the Nathaniel MG Cup, the Abertillery derby between the Bluebirds and the Excelsiors in the FAW Trophy a few weeks ago had 275 in attendance. Many have criticized how the FAW handle Cymru’s domestic set-up over the years but the Cymru Football App is without a doubt a step in the right direction. It’s tapped into peoples desire to watch live sport again after the last year, the app has made it easier to find fixtures on people’s doorsteps where previously they might have been none the wiser there was football being played.
More Embracing Welsh Football
This point is a combination of the first two to an extent. As football froze in its tracks during 2020, more and more became disillusioned with the state of the game in the months without fans in the stadiums. Fans of English Premier League sides felt like football was now merely a television show (some might argue it was exactly the same for said fans before the pandemic when fans were in grounds and many choose to watch clubs on TV) and as soon as the opportunity came, they’d lap up live football. Go to any game in any league up and down the country and you’ll 99% see at least one fan wearing the shirt of a Premier League team. In my eyes there’s nothing wrong with this, there are many who watch my local side, even volunteering on match days getting the ground set up who’ll go to the pub after and watch their Premiership club. As long as you’re supporting a Welsh club, it really doesn’t matter if you watch someone else in the meantime. At the end of the day, there are thousands in Wales who support Premiership sides, wherever that’s through adopting their parents side, moving locations or just simply glory hunting. But I am aware of some who have become totally disillusioned from Premier League clubs and have adopted a new club who they’re able to watch week in, week out. These fans are falling in love with football all over again, experiencing the joys of watching entertaining competitive fixtures with a pint in hand, surrounded by like-minded fans all there for the love of their club and the game.
Why will figures still rise?
We finally seem to be back to a normal way of living, we’re able to do the majority of things that were taken away from us when the world locked down. Many have a newfound feeling of gratitude and are more appreciative of the things we considered to be normalities in life. Football fans are back watching their team home and away, anticipating cup draws, booking coaches and train tickets, planning European tours and all the parts and rituals of going to the match. There were many fans of the Welsh clubs playing in the English pyramid attending Welsh domestic fixtures, playing a part in the rise of fans at grounds. Through the Cymru Football App and just wanting to watch as much football as they can, these fans seem to be attending games from the bottom to the top of our pyramid. There isn’t much reason to suggest why this won’t continue all season around. Encourage your mates to watch domestic football, even if you follow someone across this island already. We all deserve as much joy as possible after the last year, so get out there, support Welsh football and have a laugh whilst doing so.
