A Weekend to Remember!

In the midst of great Welsh sporting triumphs this weekend - capped by Cardiff City's demolition of Middlesborough, I've been looking for an excuse for a celebratory blog post!

I was tempted to reflect on how the collective spirit if well nurtured can triumph over a organisations / players with far more resources.

Alternatively it might be the time to think about the link between the politics of devolution and sport. There is at least some scholarly research which links the notable decline in support for devolution in Scotland between 1978 and March 1st 1979, to the fortunes of the national football team. But before Emyr Jones Parry gets overly excited about the prospects for a Yes vote, the timetable set allows plenty of opportunity for Fijiesque debacles within the next two years.

What more can therefore be said other than to wish Wales and Cardiff City well for their crunch games over the next few weeks (not forgetting the Swans of course who need to get back to winning ways)? There is one issue of football politics that Cardiff's success really does bring to the forefront. If, and it isn't entirely in the realm of fantasy, Cardiff win the Cup and repeat the great success of 1927; will they be allowed by the football authorities to represent England in Europe? This to me makes the case stronger than ever that UEFA, the FAW and the English FA need to sort out Welsh football's representation in Europe as soon as possible! It is crazy that the likes of Cardiff and Swansea can't represent Wales in Europe. Just imagine AC Milan at Ninian Park or Barcelona at the Liberty. Its time to get this situation sorted, with one or two European places linked to the FAW Premier Cup or the Welsh Cup.