Russell Holden is a leading thinker on the linkages between sport, society and politics, as an educator, researcher consultant and communicator. His Cardiff-based consultancy In the Zone focuses on sport and politics and he is a regular commentator and analyst in this area for the Welsh and the UK Media. Russell has substantial experience of Higher Education in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Poland. He is also the co-founder and co-convenor of the Political Studies Association Specialist Research Group on Sport and Politics an international group with over 200 members. Russell was also the co-ordinator of Sport Aid in Wales, masterminding a range of fundraising initiatives in response to the famine in Ethiopia in 1985. Russell has maintained his link with global development and aid issues through the Welsh Centre for International Affiars and is now an active Trustee of the charity.

The Welsh football dilemma

Four years of waiting is over, and four weeks of football starts today. But what is a Welsh football fan to do?

Going for gold

The so-called Golden Decade of Sport is not just a British thing – it is a moment when Welsh nation-building and Welsh sporting success can converge, and create something special