FAWs Decision To Stage Welsh International at World Class Venue was Wrong

FAWs Decision To Stage International at World Class Venue was Wrong

I no longer really agree with this argument, featured prominently in Bobbing Along Issue One,  against the Welsh FA moving International games to Cardiff Arms Park (as was). Yes, it did affect the Welsh Clubs (and their 'pay at the gate' turnstile operators) financially. But at this time Ninian Park, the Vetch and The Racecourse were all disgraces as International venues.

By 1989 Ninian Park was falling to bits with great swathes of the ground closed and next to no remedial work being done. Visible ground improvements consisted of occasional patches of wet cement on the terraces. The whole Ninian experience was akin to sitting in a condemned rollercoaster - you felt it could collapse at any moment.  

 

The walk to the ground later inspired a popular mod map in Call of Duty: Urban Warfare.

 

The Welsh FA even had the audacity to try to price us out by charging £7.00 for tickets against West Germany. Believe me, this was big money for a football ticket in the days when you would expect to comfortably finance a night out with a bird for under a tenner.  Economists describe this as ‘opportunity cost.’

 

A 'Bobbing Along' contributor later predicted a nightmare experience of drunken crowd trouble and police brutality at the home of Welsh Rugby and the whole editorial team threatened to boycott the event - thus denying the FAW of a 38,000 sellout and £21.00 and perhaps even preventing the drunken crowd trouble, too. Who knows?

 

We later relented and loved every minute of it. Some Wales' games have rightly moved back to club venues as new grounds have been built and no actual cash now exchanges hands. However, back in 1989, there was absolutely no infrastructure in Welsh football although we had a good team.

Photo nicked from Football grounds of Great Britain. I do not know who holds copyright on this picture. Ironically, I hold copyright on 'Bobbing Along'