Football is now more popular in Wales than rugby. How do we know this? Because the Football Association of Wales told us so yesterday after some expensive piece of research. Except, as Daniel Parker points out, the truth is not quite so black and white and should certainly require a little more humility – on both sides. Another week, another tiresome round of Twitter squabbles on whether rugby or football is truly the national sport of Wales. The instinctive reaction should be to avoid these fractious arguments with a bargepole.

By Harry Corish Welsh football fans will continue to watch free to air coverage of the national team in the Welsh language, thanks to a deal struck with S4C. S4C has secured exclusive UK free-to-air broadcast rights to show the Wales football team’s matches from 2022 to 2024. An agreement was in doubt when UEFA […]

Football has overtaken rugby as the most popular sport in Wales, the Football Association of Wales have claimed. The governing body have released a report which they say proves that football has swapped places with rugby as the sport most people in Wales are both interested in and participate in. “Football interest has continued to increase since research in Wales was first conducted in 2016,” say the FAW in a statement.

Watching Wales play football on TV for nothing, and in the Welsh language, is about to become history. The FAW have signed up for a brave new world of Nordic streaming channels with monthly fees, so untested the service doesn’t even exist yet in the UK. Feeling let down? So is, Dan Parker. So, from 2024 broadcast access to Wales (men’s) international football is set fall behind a paywall. Swedish streaming service Viaplay has secured exclusive access to Wales’ World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, as well as Nations League games and friendlies.

By Tom Prosser Wales chief Noel Mooney has claimed war-torn Ukraine must play their World Cup play-off ties by June – or else pull out of the tournament. Both Wales and Scotland backed Ukraine’s request to postpone their play-off semi-final against the Scots at Hampden Park following Russia’s invasion of their neighbour. But with the […]

By Tom Prosser The Football Association of Wales are hoping to receive clarification on Tuesday about when their World Cup play-off fixtures will take place, after it has now been officially confirmed that Scotland’s semi-final against Ukraine has been postponed. FIFA, world football’s governing body, had a call with the chief executives of the Scotland, Ukraine, Wales and Austria Football Associations on Monday where they were verbally told that the game will be moved to June. The Scotland vs Ukraine clash was due to be played at Hampden Park on March 24, with the winner going on to face Austria or Wales in Cardiff for a place in this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

New FAW chief executive Noel Mooney says UEFA would welcome a British and Irish bid for the 2030 World Cup. Mooney spent 10 years at UEFA and worked with all 55 European federations in his role as head of strategic development there before joining the FAW in July. The Irishman’s arrival in Cardiff comes at a time when a feasibility study is assessing whether the UK and Ireland will go ahead with an attempt to host the 2030 World Cup.

Former Cork City goalkeeper Noel Mooney has pledged to make the FAW “one of the best football associations, globally” after being appointed as their new chief executive. Mooney, who played for Limerick, Cork and Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland, is joining from UEFA, where he currently works as head of strategic development. He succeeds Jonathan Ford, who stood down at the end of March after he had been placed on gardening leave in February. He had been in post for 12 years.