So you think you know everything about football? Did you know the likes of Deco, Ronaldo, Stuart…read moreDowning and Falcao all have played Futsal in their younger days before becoming professional? From playing Futsal I guarantee you it's why they are so good on the ball. So what is Futsal? It's an indoor non contact football game that uses heavy size 3 balls and hockey goals. Teams consist of 5-a-side and can have unlimited subs. The pitch actually has out of bounds and can be over heard height. @Futsal is, as far as I know, the first dedicated futsal centre in Wales to pop up and does have an international sized pitch. Normally there are 4-5 pitches running at any one time and feature 3 league divisions a night, everyday, 7 days a week for anyone to create a team and join in. You can also hire the hall out if you so wish for a kickabout. There is a bar inside, male and female changing rooms and several TV's showing football on constantly. It is a cracking place to play and as a lover of Futsal I really would spend allday everyday here. Check it out if your into your football it'll adhere to your love of the game like it was the first time.

Gol football centres provide both 5-a-side and 7-a-side football pithces on the revolutionary '3G'…read moresurface. The innovative surface plays similarly to real grass, with the rubbery ground a massive improvement on 'astro-turf' which was formerly used for all weather sports pitch around Britain. With pitches available for private hire, this complex features a large car park, modern changing rooms and a smart bar area with flat screen televisions and comfortable seating. Perfect for friends, work-mates and team practice sessions, Gol charges competitive rates for hourly hire of its pitches. Gol also provide leagues on every day of the week, with most days having 4 or even 5 divisions of teams. All matches are officiated, with results and fixtures updated on the efficient website. A very good centre for those looking to pay 5-a-side football on a regular basis, as well as for those needing pitches for one-off hire.

Gôl is Wales's only home-grown 5-a-side company, launching the country's only first purpose-built…read morefootball facility in Cardiff a few years back. Since then it has opened a second centre in Newport and both have floodlit outdoor 5-a-side courts and a 7-a-side pitch and a clubhouse with changing rooms, hot showers and a licensed bar showing live matches on LCD and High Definition screens. There's also plenty of car parking available on site. The pitches use special rubber crumb infill, which makes them look and feel like natural turf but without the problem of getting waterlogged when it's been raining heavily - or getting rutted when the weather is too dry. It's a completely different story to astro-turf. It's popular with works / corporate teams and other teams who can book the pitches, or individuals can join the centre's own leagues to play if they are not already in a team. Most players use the centre on a weekly basis by playing in league games or as part of a block booking, although they do also have some courts which can be booked week-by-week as a one-off.

If there is a difference between your car and a Welsh person's car, that's known locally as a…read more"Cardiff." The "Cardiff" is a big deal in Wales, where vehicles are status symbols, and the closest thing to religion are the Manic Street Preachers at the Millennium. First-Hand Experience: I've never been crazy about Cardiff City, I did really like them from time to time but things come out in the wash about the owners and managers and you know... plus they've always had a bit of a violent element in the fan groups. Still I do like a lot of their fans, so it's a mixed bag. Here is the deal though. I've now seen them play at home on two occasions and it's a really energetic intense experience in their new lovely stadium. I'm giving them a 4 despite the qualifications, and will be going back for another experience at some point soon. Okay so this team is a truly amazing team, a Welsh institution, full of hooligans and passion, full of intensity and strong emotion, but they're currently going through a bad time. It should have been the best time, but it didn't work out that way, sadly. They finally achieved promotion to the Premier League, but the owner that got them there (Vincent Tan) turned out to be a bit of an a***, tried to change their colour, their name, their badge, their traditions, and then fired their manager when he was doing an amazing job keeping them in the Prem. They dropped like a rock and were relegated and are still suffering from the whole experience. Add to the mix the fact that Swansea, their eternal rival, achieved the Prem earlier, and stayed there, and are still there, and CCFC fans are understandably bitter. The owner has finally put their kits back to blue. He's a fool, really. Formed in 1899, they were league runners up in 1924 which was the closest they ever came to real glory. Very close. They also won the FA Cup in 1927 which was their biggest ever achievement. They were FA Cup Runners Up as recently as 08 and League Cup Runners Up to Liverpool in 2012. I'm going to give them four stars, because even though they're a fantastic team, with huge support, they have underachieved, and they do have hooligan elements, and the owner is still a bit of a fool. He's getting there, but he needs to fix the badge and get the team back into the Prem to appease the fans.

What does the Fox Say? And more importantly, what does the Swan See?…read more The Swan Sees fantastic football in a fantastic stadium, year after year. Cardiff is the Welsh team with the larger fan base, but Swansea has been providing sexy football to its fans for several years now, from Martinez and Sousa, to Brendan Rodgers and Michael Laudrup, and now the surprisingly good... I forgot his name! But if you're a fan you know it. Oh yes. Monk! First-Hand Experience: I saw Swansea play live in both 2011 and 2014 and both times was thoroughly impressed by their expansive style and also their fantastic support. They were formed in 1912, but never really achieved anything of merit until the Liberty was built and then everything took an upturn, ending in the Premier League. Their main rival is Cardiff and it's a very bitter rivalry. They were promoted to the Prem in 1981 and then again through the play offs under Brendan Rodgers in 2011. They had their finest moment in 2013 when they won the League Cup for the first time, and hopefully this team will now be on the map for a long time.

If your Clan includes a girl named Ellie, then this is your team. Or, was your team…read more First-Hand Experience: a good friend in South Wales took me to watch this team play a few years back. I enjoyed it a lot. It added to the long list of teams I've watched during my days as a massive soccer fan. I think I saw them in 2010 - nobody realized they would only exist for 3 more years. Hopefully they are resurrected soon. Tragically this great semi pro team which were around since 1896 (way older than Swansea themselves), have now been destroyed by bad financial management, and the courts. As of 2013, they ceased to exist. They played in the Europa League and had many heady days... but no more. They played in red at Stebonheath and will be very sorely missed by the locals.

Some of us went to Qatar. Others went to Swansea…read more Swansea.com Stadium (as Liberty Stadium is known these days) is home to Wales Premier League Football (aka Soccer) team, the Swansea Swans. They were good enough to compete in Qatar, albeit not for long, but earlier, on a random night in Wales, they lost in the last minutes of a regular season game. With all the hoopla over Qatar's "no alcohol" policy for World Cup games I was pleased that the stadium sells alcohol even if they don't allow it into the stands. The result? Hundreds of men - almost 100% men - file into the bar at halftime, no Covid-era masks in sight. The stadium itself is immaculate, with comfortable enough seating, and reasonable prices when compared to pro baseball in the US. Mid-field front row seats, mere feet away from the playing field, ran me £32.50 per person. A few other things to know: * Food is permitted inside and I can vouch for the fact that the fries with nacho sauce are quite a junk food delight; * There's on-site parking and probably public transit as well however, there were no taxi stands. It was suggested I walk to a nearby pub and summon a cab from there; and * The stadium entrances are the oddest, narrowest I've ever experienced and some may be unable to make their way through. I imagine there's different access points for those folks but if you think it might be a problem, some advance recon may be useful. Bottom line? Swansea.com Stadium is a swell place to see a live soccer match.

If you are Anthony Hannibal Hopkins and like to extract livers from your victims and then make tea…read moreout of it, then you'd be better off at the Livertea Stadium. However if you want to see the prettiest sexiest football in Wales, you've found your home. First-Hand Experience: More info about my personal experience at this stadium - my first visit here was in 2011 when I was on tour in the UK. I was very impressed by how shiny and new and modern it was. The fans are absolutely rabid and create a great atmosphere. I was most recently here in 2014 and it looks as shiny and new and impressive as ever, a real highlight of the Swansea landscape. I've been to virtually every significant stadium in the UK & US, due to a lifelong obsession with travel, sport & especially footy (soccer to Americans). Born and raised in England, I followed Oxford United (my hometown team) to many stadiums all over the country at away games, and later followed Liverpool (my fave team) around. Every stadium review - like all my reviews - are from personal experience at these stadiums from multiple visits. In 2011, I was on music tour in the UK, and visited these stadiums then, also. As recently as Fall 2014, when I was "stuck" in the UK for 3 months, I visited all of the stadiums as I travelled around the country. I have pictures of many of them which I will post in future. Also, when I'm back in the UK I plan to take more pictures, and add more stadiums too! So watch this space! *** return to regular review *** It's the second smallest Prem stadium (sometimes the smallest, depends which teams are up here), located in the beautiful hills just North of Swansea, and it's very new and a fantastic stadium with a rabid support for this team. When the stadium was built the fortunes of the club took a massive upturn and they are now an established Prem team, playing to 20k people. It was known as the White Rock Stadium, which basically means that it's not in Black Rock, Buffalo. It cost 27 mil and opened in 2003. It has held Wales games here, including a Euro qualifier in which they beat the Swiss, and a World Cup qualifier in which they lost to the Croats. The Who, Elton John, Pink, Rod Stewart and Kings Of Leon have all played here too.

Cardiff Legs Park and Cardiff Butt Park are both more appealing, but Cardiff Arms Park is awesome…read moretoo. First-Hand Experience: More info about my personal experience at this stadium - I've only been to Cardiff Arms Park for Rugby and it was a long time ago. I have to say that even before the Millennium, the Welsh fans knew how to make an incredible noise for Rugby and football games. This stadium has been eclipsed now but I'll always remember when I was about 12, coming here with friends and watching Wales. It was very loud and impressive. I've been to most UK & US stadiums, due to lifelong obsessions with travel, sport & especially footy (soccer to Americans). Born & raised in England, I followed Oxford United (hometown team) to stadia all over the country at away games, and later Liverpool (fave team) around. Every stadium review - like all my reviews - are from first-hand personal experience, usually from several visits. In 2011, I was on music tour in the UK, and visited most stadiums for fun in my spare time. As recently as Fall 2014, when I was "stuck" in UK for 3 months, I went to hundreds yet again while travelling. I have pictures of me at most, which I'll post later. Also, when back in UK I'll take more pix, and add more stadia! *** return to regular review *** It's a shame that the stadium doesn't get more love, it has so much history. Even Wales used to play matches here. Delightfully, the Cardiff Blues Rugby team have moved back here now so the stadium is in use again and is wildly popular with local Rugby fans. It's literally built adjoining the enormous Millennium Stadium, which is one of the world's best stadiums.

Formerly the number one rugby stadium in Cardiff, the Arms Park now exists quite literally in the…read moreshadows of the monsterous Millennium Stadium. With one side of the Wales' finest venues attached to the Arms Park, those inside the much smaller ground will see the Millenium stadium towering above them. Certainly in need of a little attention, the Arms Park is suffering the effects of old age and represents and out of date venu. With the Cardiff Blues jumping ship to the new, impressive Cardiff City Stadium, the Arms Park faces slipping even further into obscurity. As is the case with most sports grounds, particularly those which have witnessed some great moments over the years, there is a certain charm here. In former years, it was of course packed full of thousands of spectators, whereas now it has more of an amateur feel which hosts grass roots level sport.

Carcliff is something you don't want to have happen to you. At the very best, you lose your car,…read morecompletely. At worst, you die. So be careful. Cardiff on the other hand is slightly better. It's the largest city in Wales and one which I have mixed feelings about. Go down on Caroline St and give the Curry Chicken a try, and decide for yourself. Also grab a Clark's Pie. But this review is specifically about the stadium. First-Hand Experience: More info about my personal experience at this stadium - I went to this place in 2011 and 2014 and both times, as much as the Cardiff City fans can be a little leery and scary, it's an absolute palace of a stadium. Brilliant intense state of the art new place that helped launch Cardiff to the Prem for the first time and is a credit to the city and club. Not even a big fan of Cardiff City but this is one of the better stadiums in the country and they did a brilliant job with it. I'll be going back here in 2016 I am sure. I've been to most UK & US stadiums, due to lifelong obsessions with travel, sport & especially footy (soccer to Americans). Born & raised in England, I followed Oxford United (hometown team) to stadia all over the country at away games, and later Liverpool (fave team) around. Every stadium review - like all my reviews - are from first-hand personal experience, usually from several visits. In 2011, I was on music tour in the UK, and visited most stadiums for fun in my spare time. As recently as Fall 2014, when I was "stuck" in UK for 3 months, I went to hundreds yet again while travelling. I have pictures of me at most, which I'll post later. Also, when back in UK I'll take more pix, and add more stadia! *** return to regular review *** All bias aside, you have to say Vincent Tan really, really delivered here. This is utterly amazing. This is one of the best stadiums in the entire country, and I don't just mean Wales, I mean the UK. The atmosphere is intense, the stadium is beautiful inside and out, modern, it's perfect for any football club. It holds 33k people and only cost 48 mil which is not a lot compared to other beautiful stadiums. Wales have played a few home games here and the Stereophonics have played concerts here, but the fans were just looking, not buying tickets. The media liked the gigs a lot, especially this one guy that I call Mr. Writer.

I didn't actually come here for a football game but for a conference that used this as the venue…read more Honestly fantastic and easy to get to as it is just a short walk from a railway station. ~ Interior: The stadium is modern and up-to-date with its interior decor. It would make for an excellent venue with clean toilets and a fantastic view of the football pitch. If you were deciding on booking a place for a business conference I would highly suggest it. ~ Location: As mentioned before its location is great. A short walk form a railway station and nearby is a shopping strip with standard department stores and restaurants. --- A great stadium near the centre of Cardiff that would be fantastic for watching a game or using it as a venue!