Then one business, only one, was allowed to flout the rules. Because of its money and undoubted influence professional football was allowed to go back to work early. 

‘We can test everyone,’ it said. ‘We can all isolate in posh hotels. We’ll be alright.’ And besides think of the money there was to be made from all those games on TV without having to bother with those troublesome fans. A win for everyone involved I think you’ll agree.

But what is it like to actually be at a game without fans during the Covid lockdown? Having watched the early ‘behind closed door’ matches on TV I was itching to know what, if any, atmosphere there was inside the stadium itself. Who would actually be there? And how would you react when your team scored? 

So I jumped at the opportunity to cover the last scheduled game of the 2020-2021 season at the Cardiff City Stadium. It was a biggy. Just one point would mean my beloved Bluebirds flew into the Championship play-off semi-finals, destination the Premier League. The opponents, Hull City, stuck at the bottom of the second tier, were staring relegation in the face. Following the enforced Covid break for we Bluebirds the longest season on record was about to become even longer. 

Delighted as I was to at last be seeing my team play for real it was all a slightly unnerving experience. This was the first time I had ever parked at the ground on a match day. You do feel rather grand driving through the barrier and parking smack bang outside Rec

eption. Stewards who I thought I recognised behind their facemasks shepherded me to a distant entrance. My temperature was probed with one of those plastic handguns I’d seen in China. And then I was asked to fill in a medical questionnaire before being given my pass and shown to my seat which was clearly marked with yellow tape.

There were some twenty of us media bods scattered across the press box and a stretch of the Grand Stand. The silent pre-match build up was broken every so often as the radio reporters piped up, speaking animatedly into the microphone for a few seconds. And then, silence, as we all looked down at our iPads on notebooks.

I peered over the pitch longingly at my usual seat in the Ninian Stand, empty and sad under the dying summer light.

The tannoy blared away, the same bland pop as ever, only the volume was not as high as usual. As the teams entered the stadium they played Cardiff’s unofficial pre-match anthem, the rousing war cry, ‘Men of Harlech.’

We usually sing it in something approaching unison. But today the words were not flashed across the electronic advertising hoardings and in place of 20,000 people only the odd security guard clapped as we all usually did at the end of each line – a tinkling of support from hollow pockets around the ground. 

The announcer went through both line-ups as he does but there was no applause for our heroes, no jeers for the opposition. It seemed a bit odd: the footballing staff and the media would have had the players’ names and numbers in advance. He even offered his normal last gasp match day encouragement shouting “Cardiff City.

The Bluebirds” with his voice crescendoing to an expectant high. And once again – silence. Then came the whistle.

As the game kicked off I was unsure whether fake ‘atmosphere’ was to be pumped into the ground. Some clubs do this to try to replicate at least the sound of a full house. Others, and Cardiff was one of them, left us to paint our own aural pictures.

I asked Laurence, a journalist colleague of mine, what he thought of it all. He had covered quite a few matches during lockdown. At one club they had sound effects at the stadium but the audio person hit the button sounding a massive cheer for a goal just as the ball was cleared off the line. As they say, ‘You had one job.’

Cardiff City needed only a draw to seal their position in the top six but they showed a hunger to win from the very start. They played with real confidence and for once I knew it was only a matter of time before they would score. And so it proved. Junior Hoilett chested the ball down before smashing it into the bottom corner. Cue a few echoing handclaps and maybe a fist pump from the bench. It never entered my head to jump up and shout. Call it normative behaviour but I just wrote down Junior’s name, the details of the move and the goal time.

Hull should have had a penalty but nothing was given. Their manager remonstrated with the fourth official. He seemed to calm down more quickly than is usually the case. And then it was back to business. Maybe this normative silent behaviour works all round the stadium.

Both sides had good chances but Cardiff broke away again and following a corner our captain Sean Morison made it two nil with a firm header. Two nil up in the first half! In normal time we would have been going berserk. Again though I nodded knowingly and diligently marked my notepad.

Watching games on TV at home during the lockdown we had switched streams to get the commentary plus the crowd sound effects. It seemed so much more real with the commentators having to speak over the unreal electronic fans. 

When Cardiff were not on Sky or the BBC we would watch the game courtesy of Cardiff City and the Football League’s own streaming service. At first we were dismissive of the club’s media team’s attempts to ape John Motson et al.

The commentary was not polished, not the kind of thing you had come to expect over the years. However, after a couple of matches you listened to the incisiveness of their comments. These two guys understood football the way we did.

They were fans too but they also had something that we didn’t have – knowledge. Formations and positional changes were dissected along with the usual naming of players and description of the bleeding obvious. They may have been ‘amateurs’ but their refreshing approach to the job offered so much more.

I was left wondering why all the mainstream media seem to have adopted the same bland style of commentary. Professionalism? Maybe, but it’s as if there is a fear of showing any spontaneity or individuality on air.

At half time I turned to the guy sitting next to me, well three seats away actually. He was a scout from Fulham. ‘Are you watching anyone in particular?’ I asked. ‘Not really,’ he said and turned back to his notebook. The pages had goals and pitch markings on them whereas mine had lines.

I was a bit jealous. He told me that his club had sent someone to watch all three of the Cottagers potential opponents in the play-offs – Swansea and Nottingham Forest as well as him here at Cardiff. As it turned out he was at the right match. Cardiff would face Fulham in the semis.

The disadvantages of playing in empty stadium extend beyond the loss of atmosphere and revenue for clubs. Having no fans also removes the so-called ‘home advantage’ whereby statistically a team does better when playing at home.

Referees are only human and apparently a noisy home crowd can influence the decisions the officials make on fouls, yellow cards and the like. They will also allow less added time when the home team is winning but more when they are losing thereby giving the home team an extended opportunity to at least draw the game.

A study of European football has shown that without fans any such advantage is all but wiped out. The academic network ‘The Conversation’ showed that home teams win only 36% of the time when the stadium is empty. The away team wins 34% of the time. There really is very little difference.

I have some vague memory of an experiment which tested the saliva of players before matches. It indicated that there was more testosterone present in the home team’s bodies thus giving them a small extra physical lift. A very basic ‘defend our home’ emotional response apparently brought about genuine physiological changes in players. I like this theory but think it may also be macho pseudo-science I gleaned sometime in the 1970s.

As play resumed for the second half so did the noise from the pitch and the touchlines. If the coaching staff shout and swear as much as this during a normal game then I must have been a little deaf for more than a quarter of a century. Maybe they thought that they could be heard by the referee in the otherwise quiet stadium. I do wonder though whether appealing a little less often might be more productive. There’s another one for the scientists to dig into. 

Hull started much more brightly in the second half. Wilks came close, a swivel and a volley to the bottom corner, only for the shot to be saved by the Cardiff City keeper. The Tigers roared, but not for long. Cardiff made sure of the win in the 82nd minute. Bennett’s free kick bounced off the keeper only for the substitute Danny Ward to follow up. There was going to be no way back for Hull but despite this absolute trouncing I did not feel any real emotion. Of course I was glad of the win and to be there to witness it but I was one step removed from it, oddly depersonalised.

I have tried to work out why fans are so important at matches. The ‘buzz’ we associate with supporting your team is more than just sitting together. It’s the pre-match drink and the discussion of team selection and tactics on the walk to the ground. Under the stand you nod to people you may or may not know because we are all in this together. It’s the Werther’s toffee handed down from the old man from Cwmbran who sits behind me. It’s the smell of old oil frying soggy chips. Of course the game itself is central to all this but it is not in itself the whole experience. 

It used to be vital for me to be there for a game, to actually see your team, win, lose or draw. Family holidays were never booked until the new season’s fixtures came out. Tickets for away games, particularly when our allocation was limited, were sold and traded for old favours and friendships.

Back in the bad old days Cardiff fans were banned from Swansea. I managed to get in to an away game using my reporter’s badge. The Vetch Field was a cauldron of anti-Cardiff sentiment. That night I sat on my hands, literally, so that when we scored I would not jump up and cheer. That was twenty odd years ago. Something has changed. It may be me. 

Losing the link to your local team which fielded even a few local players, all seater stadiums, high ticket prices and foreign owners – take your pick. For me, without supporters, there was no true passion in the ground. It was all so, professional. It may have been my status as a reporter but unlike my usual engaged and frenetic self I adopted the detached attitude of the neutral.

This Covid ‘empty ground’ season will not be a short lived phenomenon. Not even football’s money masters will be able to wholly ignore government health regulations. Social distancing and empty seats are here to stay for some time. When football restarted behind closed doors in June 2020 we Cardiff season ticket holders were given a code for a live stream of the remaining games. But what of the next season? There really is no guarantee we will be watching live football any time soon.

Before the season ended we were asked to pay in advance for our season tickets. Until such time as we can return to our seats we will again be offered that jerky television stream which normally cost £10 a game. (Those in the Premier League don’t even get that.) For the clubs it’s business as usual only without the paying fans, those same fans who will be paying anyway.

At the final whistle that July night despite Cardiff City having made it to the play-off semi-finals there were no celebrations. There had been passion alright but it had all been on the pitch. 22 professional players playing a professional game.

To his credit the Cardiff manager Neil Harris commiserated with the Hull team as the players traipsed down the tunnel to League One. There was polite applause from the three people in the Directors Box and the media scribbled their own thoughts in that measured, unbiased way of theirs. 

Me? I trudged out into the night happy with the win but nervous for the play-offs. Had I enjoyed supporting my team in a crucial end of season match even in these bizarre circumstances? Sort of. I was glad to have witnessed a game behind closed doors but I am not sure I would do it again. Professional football without fans is a strange affair indeed.

 Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

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Will Cardiff and Swansea turn the Wenbley arch into a little piece of Wales?

So the longest season on record got even longer for four teams in the Championship. Cardiff Swansea, Fulham and Brentford have all booked their places in the play-off semi-finals.

Tim Hartley looks at the results and the prospects for the two Welsh teams involved.

And then there were four

A thumping 3-0 win against Hull City saw Cardiff book their place in the play-off semis.

For the Tigers it was the final act of a demoralising season which sees them demoted to League One. Nottingham Forest’s defeat to Stoke and Swansea’s excellent win against Reading means that both South Wales clubs are still in with a chance of returning to the Premier League.

Cardiff needed only a draw to seal their position in the top six but showed their hunger to win from the very start. With just five minutes on the clock, Robert Glatzel unleashed a vicious shot only for it to be parried away by George Long the Hull keeper. Cardiff played with real confidence and it was only a matter of time before they would score.

On nineteen minutes Junior Hoilett chested the ball down and made a fine solo run down the left into the box before smashing it into the bottom corner. Then Hull should have had a penalty. Mallik Wilks turned inside Joe Bennett. The left back stuck his leg out and there was definitely contact. Nothing was given. The Tigers can feel aggrieved not to have been back on equal terms.

Both side had good chances but Cardiff broke away and again worked the ball down the wing. From the ensuing corner Sean Morison made it two nil with a firm header from the ensuing corner.

All Welsh Football

More from Tim Hartley

The view from Wales as the Wednesday Championship showdown looms

Hull started much more brightly in the second half.

Wilks came close, a swivel and a volley to the bottom corner, only for the shot to be saved by the Cardiff keeper Alex Smithies. The Tigers roared, but not for long. Cardiff made sure of the win in the 82nd minute. Bennett’s free kick bounced off the keeper only for the substitute Danny Ward to follow up. 

The Cardiff manager Neil Harris said:

“It’s a great credit to the group to have made it. It’s a huge achievement. I am fully aware every bit of praise for myself and my staff has been earned. I came in as not a huge name and I had to prove myself every week.”

Harris has indeed won over the Cardiff fans who were initially underwhelmed by his appointment.

Swansea joined Cardiff in the play-offs after hammering Reading 4-0 at the Madejski Stadium.

The Swans needed to win and for Nottingham Forest to lose to keep their season alive. It started well enough as Rhian Brewster struck with a 30-yard thunderbolt for the visitors. Despite a red card for Reading’s Yakou Meite the hosts equalised with a penalty from George Puscascame. 

Wayne Routledge and Liam Cullen both scored to give Swansea the vital lead.

Routledge then headed in his second in added time. It was 4-1 to Swansea at the final whistle.

Forest folded to Stoke. The improbable had happened. Swansea too were through.

After the match their Head Coach Steve Cooper said:

“‘What an eventful night. We didn’t panic, we didn’t lump the ball into the box – we waited for our moment and scored four excellent goals. Then it was a bit of a blur late on if I’m honest.”

The semi-finals see the Swans play Brentford and Cardiff take on Fulham over two legs. 

The tantalising prospect of an all-Welsh final then is still on the cards. Cardiff will be very wary of Fulham. Hull were no real test for them and the Bluebirds were beaten easily at Craven Cottage earlier this month.

Swansea may have a day less to prepare but after last night’s performance will be brimming with confidence as they face Brentford on Sunday. 

In his programme notes before last night’s game the Cardiff manager Neil Harris said:

“Now is the time for calm heads, to play with freedom and to deliver quality again when it’s needed.”

At the final whistle there were no wild celebrations. At either end of the M4 in Wales both Harris and Cooper know they have won nothing yet.

Now is indeed the time for ‘calm heads.’

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

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For Hull it was the final act of their demoralising season and confirmed their demotion to League One. Nottingham Forest’s defeat to Stoke and Swansea’s win against Reading means that both South Wales clubs are still in with a chance of returning to the Premier League.

Cardiff needed only a draw to seal their position in the top six but showed their hunger to win from the very start. With just five minutes played Robert Glatzel unleashed a vicious shot from twenty yards only for it to be parried away by George Long the Hull keeper.

Cardiff played with real confidence. There was some lovely interplay in midfield and they used the wings well. It was really only a matter of when they would score.

On nineteen minutes Junior Hoilett chested the ball down and made a fine solo run down the left into the box before smashing it into the bottom corner. It was a powerful demonstration of the Bluebirds’ intent and ability.

Hull should have had a penalty. Mallik Wilks turned inside Joe Bennett, the left back stuck his leg out and there was definitely contact. Nothing was given. The Tigers can feel aggrieved not to have been back on equal terms.

Both side then had good chances, Wilks and Tom Eaves linking well for Hull. But Cardiff broke away from their attack and again worked down the wing. From the ensuing corner Sean Morison made it two nil with a firm header to give Neil Harris’ team control of the match.

Hull started much more brightly in the second half. Wilks came close, a swivel and a volley to the bottom corner only for the shot to be saved by the Cardiff keeper Alex Smithies.

The Tigers roared, but not for long and you just knew they didn’t have enough to compete. Cardiff made sure of the win in the 82^nd minute. Bennett’s free kick was bounced off the keeper only for the substitute Danny Ward to follow up.

In his programme notes the Cardiff manager Neil Harris said, ‘Now is the time for calm heads, to play with freedom and to deliver quality again when it’s needed.’ At the final whistle there were no wild celebrations only commiserations to Hull.

Harris and his men know they have won nothing yet, only a difficult game against Fulham on Monday night. Now indeed is the time for ‘calm heads.’

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

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Tim Hartley is a Cardiff City fan, journalist, broadcaster and author,.

A Welsh speaker, Tim is a former vice chair of Supporters Direct and the Cardiff City Supporters Trust and is a director of the Wales Football Trust.

He is the author of Kicking off in North Korea – football and friendship in foreign lands (Y Lolfa, 2016) and Merci Cymru ed. Hartley (Y Lolfa, 2016)

As well as authoring the book, Tim has contributed to the Guardian, When Saturday Comes, Late Tackle and various other newspapers and websites.

In his piece, he previews Welsh interest as the Championship draws to a close.

It ain’t over till it’s over

If you had offered me this at the start of the season I’d have bitten your hand off.’ Having been dumped out of the Premier League after just one dismal term Cardiff fans weren’t asking for much at the start of this campaign.

But as that battle weary supporter told me excitedly, last weekend’s performance and crushing victory over Middlesbrough has taken the Bluebirds season to the very last game. Just one point against Hull City would mean a Championship play off semi-final and potentially a trip down Wembley Way, for the players at least.

It’s a tantalising prospect for a club which refused to gamble in the transfer market, but instead put its trust in Neil Harris an up and coming manager who had previously taken Millwall to two play-off finals.

Harris has moulded a team which exudes confidence in defence ably led by captain Sean Morrison who sets a fine example at centre half. Having ditched the former manager Neil Warnock’s sometimes negative approach to the game the Cardiff players are now enjoying a more expansive style of play. They are confident when in possession and are at last able to control the tempo of a game.

There has been a renewed vigour at Cardiff City following the enforced covid break. Lee Tomlin is back in form up front, though whether he can last 90 minutes game after game could still be a concern for Harris going forward. Goals however have also been coming from midfield with Joe Ralls chipping in and Josh Murphy also came good with a fine brace against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Sitting at the bottom of the table Hull City are all but relegated. It’s been a dire season for them. Grant McCann’s side has won just one of their last 19 league games. Longer term too things are looking bleak. Eight of the current first-team squad do not have a contract with the Tigers for the 2020-21 season. Any slender chance of Jon Toral and Kevin Stewart staying at the KCOM Stadium will surely be ended by relegation from the Championship.

The way modern football is structured means that the way down can be faster than the way up. Cash will be in short supply if Hull fall into League One. Television money and solidarity payments fall from £7m to £1.5m when dropping out of the Championship and paying fans are not expected back in any stadium until October.

But never write a team off. Hull will surely play for pride and if you were a player in a team going down wouldn’t you want to impress potential new clubs to stay playing at this level?

There is a tantalising if farfetched prospect of both the major Welsh clubs, Cardiff and Swansea, making it to the play offs.

Connor Roberts scored his first goal of the season to help Swansea beat Bristol City, which has kept their play-off hopes alive. Speaking after that win Swansea’s head coach Steve Cooper said, ‘In the Championship we know that anything can happen. We’ve just got to take care of our business and try to win at Reading.’

As well as having a young squad in Steve Cooper, Swansea also have an inexperienced head coach. Cooper spent most of his career working in academy football and with England’s youngsters before taking the Swansea job in June last year.

The Swans’ star player is Andre Ayew, who is their top scorer with 17 goals and highest paid player. He has a year left on his contract but the club may have to let him leave for financial reasons should there be interest this summer.

To get to the play-offs the Swans would have to beat Reading and overturn a five-goal deficit to Forest who would have to lose to Stoke City. In this situation just one point for Cardiff would ensure both they and Swansea finish in the top six. The two Welsh teams couldn’t meet each other in the semis, only in the final, but that truly is a long shot.

Hull are 49/1 to avoid the drop to League One. Cardiff are 1/25 and Swansea 9/1 to finish in the top six of the Championship. If you are a betting man you might want to back the team from west Wales but to me the die is cast and I for one will be keeping my wallet tightly closed this time around.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

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Tim wore this shirt at a Wales supporters charity game against Syrian refugees in Swansea.

Our guest writer on Cardiff City is journalist, broadcaster and author, Tim Hartley.

A Welsh speaker, Tim is a former vice chair of Supporters Direct and the Cardiff City Supporters Trust and is a director of the Wales Football Trust.

He is the author of Kicking off in North Korea – football and friendship in foreign lands (Y Lolfa, 2016) and Merci Cymru ed. Hartley (Y Lolfa, 2016)

As well as authoring the book, Tim has contributed to the Guardian, When Saturday Comes, Late Tackle and various other newspapers and websites.

In this article, he looks at the Bluebirds’ resurgence since football restarted after lockdown.

A run of five games in 15 days, starting at home to Blackburn on July 7, will determine whether they make the playoffs. Perhaps the key game is their Bastille Day encounter with Derby County, who they lead by three points going into Tuesday’s match with Rovers.

But as Derby have the top three left to play, it may be South Wales rivals Swansea who are their main threat for that last playoff slot. The Swans have three games against sides with little to play for in their last five fixtures.

But as Hartley points out, Cardiff’s recent form suggests they are a decent shout to be in the promotion mix after the 46 games are played out.

Cardiff fans celebrate promotion in 2018

Bluebirds emerge from lockdown soaring and scoring

by Tim Hartley

Since football restarted Cardiff have looked like a different team winning three and drawing one of their four matches.

They have pushed themselves into the play off positions and although it is unlikely,  if other results go their way could even take the second automatic promotion spot.

Cardiff’s strength lies in their organisation under manager Neil Harris. They have shown they can keep possession and with a strong back four ably led by their captain Sean Morrison they can also hold off pressure from the opposition.

There is a potential weakness that with on loan Dion Sanderson as their only real right back any injury to him could prove disastrous.

The Bluebirds have been scoring goals this year.

Cardiff City remaining fixtures

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We sat cross-legged on the Astro, his shiny bald head and ginger beard framing a big smile. Looking back I see a certain irony in talking to an ex-prisoner inside a cage. But that fence in every sense is now behind Mark. Street football has changed this man’s life.

Rugby was his first love and kept him fit when he was a soldier in the Royal Regiment of Wales. But life after the Army can often be cruel and Mark got into smoking spice and drinking alcohol, lots of alcohol. He ended up in prison but during his rehab, the chaplain suggested he try having a kick about with some other people. ‘Nothing ventured nothing gained I thought,’ Mark told me. ‘Since then I haven’t looked back. Being around people that may have been on similar paths to me, I just felt included again and I’ve met some amazing people.’

Mark describes himself as a recovering alcoholic and despite being sober for four years he says football came round at the right time. ‘I was getting a bit complacent with my rehab,’ he said, ‘but then being around other people that who were not as far down the line as me, I said to myself, “Stop it. You’re not fixed yet!”’

At 44 Mark is the oldest member of the Wales team and during a recent training camp in west Wales, players were asked to write a sentence about every one of their teammates. It was a sort of group therapy. Mark scratched his beard and looked away briefly before saying, ‘One of them said I was a ‘daddy’ figure and that they could talk to me about anything. I was so touched I took a photo of it on my phone. Now when I’m feeling down I take it out and look at it.’

As part of his recovery programme, Mark was asked to write a farewell letter to his drug of choice. He’s framed the letter and hung it on the wall in his partner’s house. ‘It inspires me. Every morning I look at it. It’s like a mantra that keeps me going.’ Mark had a lot of help from Care After Combat and is now using his own experience to help others. In fact he’s actually looking forward to going back inside next week – only this time to mentor other army veterans. ‘I’ll probably know most of them,’ he jokes. ‘Look at me,’ he says as we get up to leave the cage. ‘Representing my country. In my home city. Yep. Life is pretty damned good at the moment.’

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Cardiff University’s fine artificial pitch complete with those pesky black rubber dots was positively shining in the July sunshine. But instead of advertising hoardings at pitch side, two round leather seats like the reception of a Travelodge, had been set facing each other in anticipation.

But I needn’t have worried. There were no formalities and I was soon put at ease.

‘Hi, I’m Mel,’ said the grey haired man in a blue jacket and open necked shirt with a broad smile. Smart casual they call this style. Relaxed but respectable.

He could have been a FIFA or UEFA official on an international charm offensive. But of course he was not. We shook hands and sat down slightly awkwardly on our wobbly seats.

Mel Young was looking forward to this his 17th Homeless World Cup.

Cities now have to bid to host the tournament like every other major footballing event.

Mel Young flanked by Michael Sheen addresses the crowd in Cardiff
Photo: Tim Hartley / Prost Cymru

Mel’s been on a mission for quite some time.

“What Cardiff brought to the table was the potential of a legacy, a new dimension,” he said.

“Of course it’s about the football but we have the addition of a ‘discussion tent’ this year where we’ll be talking all week about how we actually end homelessness.”

He started out in community publishing on a grey housing estate in Edinburgh and describes himself as a social entrepreneur. In 1993 he saw the Big Issue being sold on the streets of London and set up a Scottish version.

Homelessness was as much of a problem then as it is now and soon they were selling 140,000 copies a week. He says the Scottish people never bought into the Conservatives party’s ‘no such thing as society’ mantra.

“I think people bought the Big Issue almost to badge-up, show their defiance,’ he said.”

It was at an international conference for street papers in Cape Town in 2001 that the idea for a Homeless World Cup was born.

“Like all good ideas it started with a chat over a couple of late night beers,” says Mel with a smile on his face.

“Harald Schmied, who ran the street paper in Graz in Austria and I were looking back on the day’s discussions. We were there. The professionals and academics were there.

“But where were the homeless themselves? How could we hear their voice and involve them in their own futures?”

Mel comes from Leith in Edinburgh, is lifelong Hibernian fan and spent his youth on the terraces at Easter Road. He recalled that memorable day in 2016 when the unfancied Hibees beat the mighty Rangers to lift the Scottish FA Cup for the first time.

“That kind of thing sticks with you forever,” he said. “It’s difficult to describe.”

In retrospect the answer to his and Harald’s question as to how to engage with people who are homeless seems obvious. Let’s start with a football game between homeless people in Scotland and Austria, they thought.

“After another round of drinks,” says Mel, “every other country at the conference wanted to come too.”

So in 2003 in Graz was born the Homeless World Cup.

A fan prepares for the game
Photo: Tim Hartley / Prost Cymru

The success of that first tournament was beyond anything they could have imagined. Forget any idea about European dominance of the game. This year’s World Cup, the 17th such event, sees 500 players representing 48 countries from as far afield as Cambodia, Ivory Coast, Pakistan and Brazil taking part

“Never refer to them as “homeless,” Mel admonished me.

“They are first and foremost players. And they are all fantastic ambassadors for their countries. Some of them have gone on to play football professionally. But that’s not the point.”

Mel is keen to see the power of football and the experience the players share at the World Cup being used to engage with them off as much as on the pitch.

He recalls getting on a bus in Edinburgh a few years ago.

“‘Hi Mel,’ said the driver. ‘You don’t remember me do you? I was homeless and then I played football with you guys.’ “

Mel didn’t remember him but here was this guy driving a bus. He had a flat and was engaged. The other passengers were getting impatient while the two chatted away.

“His whole world had changed,” said Mel, “because of football.”

You can hear countless individual stories of change and redemption at this year’s Cup. But Mel is no romantic.

He leaned towards me on the wobbly seat.

“Of course the tournament is a platform for change for the players but we all need to own this issue and address the systematic problems in society,’ he said.”

“Ultimately, we want to make sure the Homeless World Cup doesn’t need to exist.”

More on Homeless World Cup

How football lifts people from their lowest ebb

[VIDEO] Michael Sheen talks exclusively to Prost on the importance of the HWC

‘An amazing experience’ – Football’s Homeless World Cup

‘You’ll be blown away’ – Football’s Homeless World Cup

More than a game – Football’s Homeless World Cup

The Homeless World Cup is a unique, pioneering social movement which uses football to inspire homeless people to change their own lives. Homeless World Cup 2016 is taking place in Glasgow’s George Square from July 10th to July 16th.

For more information, visit www.homelessworldcup.com

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Awarded an OBE in 2009, he is the honorary President of Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA).

Sheen is also a keen football player and has taken part in a number of charity football matches, most notably as captain of the Rest of the World side against an England team led by Robbie Williams at Soccer Aid 2010 at Wembley Stadium.

As Cardiff, the capital of Wales, gears up to host the Homeless World Cup 2019, Sheen spoke to Prost International’s Tim Hartley about how this year’s Homeless World Cup in Cardiff will help change lives and attitudes.

He also talks about losing the stigma of homelessness, of raising the players’ confidence as well as why he missed a trial for Arsenal and what it’s like playing with Zinedine Zidane.

More from Tim Hartley

‘An amazing experience’ – Football’s Homeless World Cup

‘You’ll be blown away’ – Football’s Homeless World Cup

More than a game – Football’s Homeless World Cup

Op-Ed: Team GB is an affront to Wales’ most loyal fans

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In his third preview of the tournament Tim Hartley looks at the difference playing in a competition like this makes for men and women who have been homeless or who are getting over addiction.

We are used in our capital city to waving the flag. It’s usually the Welsh dragon during European rugby’s six nations championships. The pedestrianised St Mary’s Street with its bars and restaurants is festooned with banners whipping up expectation of the heroics to come. But Wales has also hosted soccer’s FA and League Cup finals, the UEFA Champions League final, Wales’ home soccer matches and a host of other sporting events. The city council loves to get the flags out and as teams from 50 countries hold their final training sessions the welcome for the Homeless World Cup will be no different.

I went down to the Civil Service ground in Newport to meet Keri Harris, the squad manager for the Wales men’s and women’s teams. He was at the first World Cup in Graz in 2003, has managed the Wales squads since then and now runs Street Football Wales. He knows the power of the game to change lives. ‘I remember one of my team back then at the first World Cup was an agoraphobic lad. Just being there was a really big thing for him. We got him to carry the flag in the opening parade. I saw him change before my eyes.’

Another player Kerri has helped to get his life back on track is Wayne. ‘I’ve come from a situation where I had almost given up on life,’ said Wayne who was released from prison in 2013. Two years later he met Kerri who gave him the opportunity to play in the finals in Amsterdam. ‘The Homeless World Cup is such an amazing experience,’ said Wayne. ‘There’s food, music, fun. There’s laughter. There’s representatives from the rest of the world. The flair on the pitch is phenomenal.’

In a sense though it is what happens off the pitch, what happens to the men and women playing the game, which really matters. Wayne knows this only too well. ‘For people experiencing homelessness or substance abuse for such a long time,’ he said. ‘Well, they’ve been excluded from society and they have no connection with human beings. They come along and to be part of something like, that’s real, it makes them human. For me it definitely made me feel worthy. My self-worth used to be on the floor but since becoming a player, putting this badge on, I believe I’m worth something.’ Wayne is now helping other vulnerable people by helping to coach the homeless teams.

(Photo: Paul John Roberts)

There are now four leagues and forty homeless football teams in Wales, in the capital and second city, Swansea and in the north of the country in Colwyn Bay. There are more than a thousand players who are either homeless or who suffer from social exclusion. Football is one way to help them get their lives back on track.

Despite the welcome and the obvious enthusiasm for the World Cup in Cardiff Kerri Harris says there is still more to do. The organisers of the tournament know this too. Yes there will be a music festival and there will be lots of food on site. But they have also organised a parallel series of events to raise consciousness of the issues surrounding homelessness including a ‘debate tent’ where high profile speakers and the public will engage on issues around inequality and injustice. The idea is to think up some innovative solutions. There will be work and volunteering opportunities for homeless people too.

The shabby tents in the underpasses and parks are testament to the fact that homelessness is at its worst point in decades in across Wales, indeed the whole of the UK. The Hollywood actor and social activist Michael Sheen led Cardiff’s bid to host this year’s tournament. He wants the tournament to be more than an event. He wants it to create a legacy. ‘All around the world I’ve seen how football can play a massive part in helping people transform their lives, bring some joy and hope when things seem at their worst. The football pitch works best when we help each other out. It’s the same in life. Hope reigns supreme at the Homeless World Cup.’

The 17th Homeless World Cup takes place in Cardiff from Saturday July 27th to Saturday August 3rd 2019.

Tim Hartley is a journalist and author. Follow him on twitter – @timhhartley or on Facebook – www.facebook.com/AuthorTimHartley

Spectators can also view a photo exhibition of the Homeless Football World Cup players, run in conjunction with the tournament in Cardiff, by Paul John Roberts. 

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