Welsh football

Inverness away on a Tuesday night could be fun. Especially if you support Plymouth!

 

It's probably not as small as you think it is, or at least it's not always as quick to get around as you might think. The roads and other transport infrastructure in certain more remote parts of the country aren't great, and petrol is really expensive. The large number of away supporters at many games is one of the best things about British football compared with many leagues. By the way, do you get away supporters in any American sports, or people just don't travel to support their teams? I've often wondered about this. In Russia for example, the Moscow teams always bring a large following to Zenit, but for most others it's under 100 and often under 20.

 

I used to live in Reading, which is (give or take) 200 miles away from Barnsley. Journeys of 6 to 7 hours were not uncommon for me. That works out at 30 miles per hour on average, on motorways. Basically it was a day to get to there, so I used to start travelling overnight. So they started closing the motorways to do maintenance. Still the same 6 to 7 hours when you factor getting off the motorways 3 times a journey. It's a nightmare to travel long distances in the UK nowadays

 

@Merde Tete @Tyke_67 Again I refer you to the British ice hockey league which has a Belfast team and also the fact that Tenifere and Cagliari play in their respective leagues. Also you bring up that map of Plymouth/Inverness but why don't you show some of the champions league/europa league ones? They have to be even further.. Oh, and they play midweek games. So yet again I don't see a problem. Not every fan has to travel to every single game.

@Merde Tete I mean US fans have to travel just to support local teams sometimes haha. They don't bring the away followings like in soccer but there are certain NFL teams that seem to have fans all over the country. I know a group of Falcons fans in Utah that make the drive to Arizona if ever the Falcons are there.

 

You seem to be equating geographical distance to long journey times. That isn't the case at all. You quote Tenerife, but due to their being an island i the middle of the Atlantic, their option is to catch a Plane to the Spanish mainland. I would say it's about 2 to 2.5 hours journey to do that.

Like I say, it's a nightmare travelling in the UK. If it takes me 6 hours to drive 200 miles (sometimes) then it will take a coach with a football teams players and officials (sometimes) 6 hours. Geographical distance doesn't equate to time to get there. Same in the US and for CL Games

 

Even further to Ross County

 

Away fans are a big part of our football league though.

 

In UK Ice Hockey, Belfast away games are usually scheduled so that 2 happen the same weekend. So for example Sheffield will often play their Belfast away games on the Saturday and Sunday the same weekend. Then the other away game will usually be midweek. It's a completely different beast to Football. Away fans are also less of an importance.

I totally get what you're saying, but the way football works is totally different to those other sports and away fans are a massive part of what makes it special. I'm not saying it's impossible for a league to include Scottish and Northern Irish teams, but it's a little impractical to say the least.

 

To clarify a few points on here:

The Welsh League was formed around 1900, while the Welsh Cup was first contested in 1877.
Cardiff were founded in 1899, then known as Riverside FC until they changed their name to Cardiff City in 1908.
Riverside FC played in chocolate and orange quarters and yes, it was a horrible kit.
At the time of the name and colour change, there was a popular play on at the New Theatre in the city relating to bluebirds - hence the nickname.
Cardiff joined the Southern League in 1910.
The Football League was expanded in 1920, incorporating the Southern & Combination leagues.
A number of Welsh clubs were invited and joined - Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, Newport, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr, Aberdare & Barry Town. Scottish clubs were also invited.

The FAs of England, Scotland, Wales & NI lent money to form UEFA - and are all subsequently members of the main committee with individual voting rights.
UEFA tried to force the UK to have only one vote, saying that the FAs must have their own professional leagues to be considered worthy of their position.
The Welsh clubs in the English pyramid system refused to join the newly formed Welsh Premier League in 1993 and were subsequently excluded from playing in the Welsh Cup. Colwyn Bay and Barry Town have since joined the Welsh Premier set up because of financial constraints, mainly due to travel.
After winning the Welsh Cup I’ve seen Cardiff play in the Cup Winners Cup against teams such as Real Madrid, Hamburg, Dynamo Tbilisi etc. I’ve also travelled to Switzerland, Denmark, ROI & Belgium to watch them.

Because the FAW committee, consisting entirely of amateur club members, wanted to maintain the “stature and kudos” associated with this unwarranted lofty position at UEFA, they denied us all entry to the Welsh Cup.
English teams used to be invited into the Welsh Cup btw & it’s been won by the likes of Shrewsbury, Hereford, Bristol City (only thing they’ve ever won lol).
The FAW (and all other leagues) can nominate who they want to represent them in UEFA competitions. The accepted norm is based on league position or Cup wins - but doesn’t have to be.
So we now get to watch TNS or whoever represent Wales and get annihilated - unless they play Scottish sides lol.

 

Even South Liverpool won the Welsh Cup in the distant past. Late header from keeper I think.

 

Another factor is that we already have 92 English teams in the 4 divisions. Every town or village in England has a football team at some level so we don't really need a British League to make the competition more competitive.
Having said that, I personally wouldn't mind the bigger clubs like Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United, Aberdeen etc pitting their wits in the Championship.