The Welsh football dilemma

Who kicked the ball into next door's garden?

TODAY marks the start of four weeks of football, during which time it will be become nigh-on impossible to avoid the cheers for “Bafana Bafana” (the South African team). The British public will become swamped by references to “Serbian Sweepers”, “Nigerian Playmakers” and “Argentinian Hatchetmen”. As the stereotypes go into overdrive, and the airwaves and print media are clogged by presenters and pundits, the cross of St. George has become ubiquitous.

The emblem is festooned from houses, offices, garages and pubs – all part of the corporate drive to believe that the England team is better than it actually is – while supermarkets and brewers cash in on the spectator viewing bonanza. The Nationwide Building Society is even temping us in with a four-year Football Bond which pays 0.5% bonus if England win the tournament.

For the Welsh football fan, both male and female, without a national team to support and unable to make a connection, however tenuous, with any player beyond British shores, the choices are threefold: to support any team (ideally, a second favourite side) other than England; to champion the cause of England; or, more radically, to switch off from football until the new season in favour of following or participating in a real summer sport. However, this is not a new dilemma for the Welsh fan, as the last time Wales participated in the World Cup Finals was in 1958, when the tournament was not the showpiece for the world’s most lucrative past-time that it has now become.

Whereas in recent competitions it was possible for Wales to lay claim to the former Liverpool striker Michael Owen, support for England this time will be rationalised by some Welsh football supporters in the same fashion as when they are happy to have Welsh cricketers representing England and Rugby Union players turning out for the British and Irish Lions. With no other Home Nation involved and the Republic of Ireland denied their potential qualification by the “Hand of Henry”, it becomes more likely that many in Wales will support Fabio Capello’s team.

For others, it will be too much to stomach, as both national and cultural identity will be undermined by lending support to England. In 2002 when England reached the Quarter Finals of the World Cup, earning a tie against Brazil, it was a very common sight to see Brazilian football shirts being worn on the streets of Cardiff on the day of the game. Had the opposition been France or Croatia, it is doubtful that the shirts would have been in such demand, though England’s opponents would still have been cheered vociferously by some.

The third option is to switch off from football and to devote time to those sports that are increasingly squeezed by the schedule of football and the lure of its riches. Wales has a healthy tradition of rugby players and spectators devoting their attention in the summer months to cricket, whilst the possibility of becoming immersed as a spectator or participant in athletics, golf and even Wales’ distinctive brand of baseball is enticing. In 2010 this draw is greater than normal as Wales prepares for the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games. Furthermore, the Welsh summer offers a raft of annual sporting events around the country such as baseball, powerboat racing, show jumping and speedway which occur outside the glare of the media.

As the roar of the vuvuzela – the raucous horn favoured by South African fans – becomes part of the soundtrack of many of our lives for the next month, Welsh football fans should start to think about the next qualifying tournament. This will provide an opportunity to take on arch rivals England and they may be better advised to focus their energies on these ties, even if they have struck lucky with the Football Bond.