The bottom line about this ground criteria

[Deleted]

Utter bullshit. If you take one club out of the equation youd be lucky to have a combined total of 250 people watching the entire div1 fixtures on a busy full Saturday fixture list. Then you’d be even more fortunate if you were to get a combined total of 250 through the gates of the entire 2nd and 3rd div fixture list. So maybe a max of 5-600 people in total watch Welsh League games on a routine Saturday and yet these cretins of the Faw want to make you clubs upgrade in readiness for Real Madrid to visit every week. Let’s face It, if clubs were having them sort of 250 attendances every week they’d be happy to fund the upgrade because they’d be swimming in the revenues from match days. This is extreme bullyboy tactics by the faw and another instance of them quite literally moving the goalposts.
Just take a look at some of the WPL attendances to realise that it’s the norm for crowds of 150- 200 on a good day. An that’s our premier league. Cloud cuckoo land the lot of the duffers. Improvement? Nah just duffers trying to fix something that is already working. Now if they were to use all that lolly they earned from Euro2016 to help fund the upgrades then that would be different. Pathetic

[scoutman]

Hit the nail smack on the head voggy. The whole thing is a fudge in favour of clubs in the north.

[uptonparkgoodbye]

Everything favours Gogland.......league format, grants + tv coverage from the Goons at S4C.

What would be the biggest laugh of all time if little old Penydarren Boys Club went on and lifted the J D Welsh Cup. I'm dreaming on this front I know.

[fairplay]

You are quite right UPG about your theory of some form of favouritism towards our friends in the North.They win 20 3 in grant money, all their clubs were drawn to play in North Wales in the last three rounds of the Welsh Cup, TV live coverage etc,etc. Conspiracy theorists wonder whether their Cup Draw balls are warmed up for easier identification or maybe their FAW members work harder for their clubs than ours.Maybe they are worrying about the increasing numbers of South Wales clubs targeting the Welsh Premier League which will mean they will have to travel to South Wales more often.I am sure the great Vogdog will have some answers as his club are often playing in the North.

[jenko1973]

Vodog, you are bang on my friend.

These rules are being set by people who have no clue what the true day to day of a club looks like.

Let's build stands with seats in so no-one can sit in them when the showers don't work, the clubs are going bust and general facilities are nothing short of awful.

We played Cheddar pre-season and the whole set up funding and facilities were miles ahead of most of the Welsh League.

The whole league needs to a blank sheet of paper with real football and business people sat around.

Another mess.

[Deleted]

Austerity is not something the Faw are conscious of especially when many of the clubs are surviving in chronic economic times. Redundancies, small and medium sized businesses struggling and closing down which ultimately impacts on schoolchildren having decent meals when they go home. That’s the reality. All this is going on in the South whilst the Faw are forcing extra financial measures on clubs members and committees who use football as one of their few pleasures and recreations. Let’s not forget that when the local football club goes to pot it removes a stepping stone and aspiration for thousands of kids.
The Faw are on a different planet. All might be rosey in their plush Cardiff offices and their international superstars and manager earning absolute fortunes but meanwhile back in the bleak communities life is completely different. The Faw need to wipe the potential blood off their hands and get back to the real world.

[ybarddllawryfog]

VOGDOG and his love for Carwyn J
Simply ask the Assembly to pay
I'm sure they love his left wing posts
And I'm sure it's the racist ones they love the most
Simply throw all clubs all their £50 notes
Just as they try to keep Welsh businesses afloat
But within months they all fail
And the bailiffs hammer down the nail
But no one's bothered no one cares
Cheer up cos its changing in a couple of years

[jamesy]

Voggers, you are 100% correct.

Fed up of seeing tweets from the FAW when clubs go bust saying how sad it is. Maybe try and find out why this is happening and do something about it?

One question I would raise is how much in bonuses were paid out to the Welsh team post Euro 2016?

Surely these already high earning footballers were playing for the badge and therefore shouldn't expect financial reward when so many clubs in Wales are struggling.

Also I would ask whether tier 5 and below clubs are eligible to apply for funding as judging from the FAW Trust funding map, it doesn't appear so.

[fairplay]

When you mention about clubs going bust in trying to bring their grounds up to standard you only have to look at the timescale for clubs to achieve Tier 2 standards. Those clubs applying for Tier 2 were told at the beginning of this month that the work required would have to be completed by the 3oth April this year.For clubs to obtain funding for this work they can only apply for the next round of funding which is at the end of this year.As the Welsh League will still be running the 1st Division next season surely the date of completion of ground improvements could be extended from the 30th April to next year.It is season 2019/20 that it will be under the jurisdiction of the FAW.

[smiffy]

Clubs knew in October 2015 originally that 30/4/17 was the deadline, then extended to 30/4/18 in October 2016.

This was all in writing to secretaries of all Member Clubs and the dates on the documents reflect this.

Perhaps why this information wasn’t passed on should be the main target of your dismay?

Next myth?

I’m here all day

[Deleted]

After reading this its nothing short of entrapment for certain clubs. Being stuck in a no win situation due to lack of resources and funds to be able to compete in the same league they are currently in. It's an absolute disgrace and the press need to be enlightened fully with the Faw bullyboy tactics. It's no good contacting the SW Echo because their Welsh league correspondent has his brown nose emplanted firmly up the Faw cheifs bumholes. Maybe Pel Droed can get this taken to the forefront and help you clubs plights in some way. These clueless maggots are in the process of strangling footballing communities. What's worse is that the spineless crackpots of the league that you financially subscribe to are happily endorsing it. Did you pay your yearly subscriptions for them to do this to your communities?
I've just looked at the recent Welsh Cup Final attendances and twice in the past few years it hasn't gone into four figures. The premier competition in Wales attracts an average CUP FINAL attendance of just 1300 so that speaks volumes for how many will attend routine Welsh league games.

Feb 12, 2018 13:40:43 GMT 1 fairplay said:

When you mention about clubs going bust in trying to bring their grounds up to standard you only have to look at the timescale for clubs to achieve Tier 2 standards. Those clubs applying for Tier 2 were told at the beginning of this month that the work required would have to be completed by the 3oth April this year.For clubs to obtain funding for this work they can only apply for the next round of funding which is at the end of this year.As the Welsh League will still be running the 1st Division next season surely the date of completion of ground improvements could be extended from the 30th April to next year.It is season 2019/20 that it will be under the jurisdiction of the FAW.

[june66]

I find it incredible that a team that plays in a division where it is not important enough to have 3 officials,( even the youth league games have to have 3 officials), has to have facilities for 250 spectators to be seated, this is typically a decision of the FAW the same FAW that is no longer in touch with the grass roots of the game and frankly doesn’t give a stuff about the lower league clubs it seems to be more important to develop the women’s game

[Deleted]

June1976 you have made a stupendous point which is further proof that priorities are all wrong. Gareth Morgan has also been vocal in the past about how far down the pecking order that the condition of the pitch is. He’s on the money with that.Surely the pitch is the priority and the trimmings are extra.

Feb 12, 2018 19:44:21 GMT 1 june66 said:

I find it incredible that a team that plays in a division where it is not important enough to have 3 officials,( even the youth league games have to have 3 officials), has to have facilities for 250 spectators to be seated, this is typically a decision of the FAW the same FAW that is no longer in touch with the grass roots of the game and frankly doesn’t give a stuff about the lower league clubs it seems to be more important to develop the women’s game

[mellon]

Obviously we have to be very careful what is said on here or anywhere else on social media as before you know it you will be dragged up on a charge of "bringing the game into disrepute" which covers a multitude of sins. All I would say is that little clubs like us will always struggle financially to compete with the bigger long established clubs no matter how hard we try. This year we have gone from just the 1st Team (adults) to having a team in the Youth Division and also an Under 11's. Next year we will have the 1st Team, Reserve Team, Youth Team and also Under 12's. The costs involved are huge and now add to that all that is required to meet the new criteria and it becomes quite frightening. I have just had one quote for the extra seating requirements for 2019/2020 at around £10,000. Yes there are grants available but it will still cost a lot of money. One of the crazy parts of all of this is that a side in Div 3 (no names will be mentioned on here) could finish mid table and yet find themselves propelled into the current Div 1 as many other sides don't or won't have the correct facilities in time. That side does not want that to happen but could well be forced to abide by the new rules, but could not compete as they don't have the squad to compete. Make your own judgements !!!!!!

[Deleted]

Mellon you are absolutely correct. Newport City aka Llanwern just rock up and hire their soulless stadium (and secluded car park) and put no effort into improvements because they don’t have to. That’s no slight against them it’s just a fact. The council would probably object to any amendments to their ground anyhow. Clubs who have sole use of their ground in long term leases are stuffed when it comes to the criteria. As I said this is nothing against Newport or any other club that rent a pitch for 2 hours a week.
Incidentally the very fact that you have to abide to the ridiculous criteria could potentially affect your provision of youth football if the costs are too much. Now surely that in itself is a backward step. I take it you are STM and you yourself will know you’ll never get more than 70 people watching a game at the cage. Those Faw fellows seem to have caught the funny fag bug with their hideous pie in the sky vision.