Should Wales target the UEFA U-21 Championship?

We're getting used to hosting one-off games, but should Wales consider bidding for
a whole tournament? One we might stand a realistic chance of hosting.
(Pic : Football Association of Wales)

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) took a slap to the face when Cardiff was overlooked to host Euro 2020 games.

Although Cardiff hosted this year's UEFA Super Cup, the FAW have long coveted a major final or tournament. Realistically, the FAW could only host a major final (like a Champions League final) at the Millennium Stadium, while only three current stadiums would be up to the standards required to co-host a European Championships : the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff City Stadium and Liberty Stadium.

Back in 2010-11, the FAW submitted a bid to host the 2013 UEFA Under-21 Championships but were beaten to it by Israel. UEFA praised the high standard of the Welsh bid, however, and the FAW are quoted as saying that Wales should be able to host a major tournament "in the future".

The UEFA Under-21 Championships have traditionally been hosted by the smaller and mid-sized nations. It gives these nations a chance to host a tournament, as they would never stand a chance of hosting a full European Championships by themselves.

Slovakia hosted it in 2000, Sweden in 2009, Denmark in 2011 and, as mentioned, Israel hosted it in 2013. Next year's tournament will be hosted by the Czech Republic.

The crowds are much smaller than those for other major tournaments, but the Under-21 Championships are growing in stature as they've become a proving ground for "stars of the future".

There doesn't appear to be any minimum requirements to host the tournament itself other than all- seater stadiums. Each of the host nations I've mentioned has used four stadiums with capacities of between 8,000 and 35,000.

From 2017 the tournament is expanding from 8 teams to 12 and will probably require 5 or 6 stadiums. Poland is currently considered a shoo-in to host it. Expanding the tournament will make it a bit harder for Wales, but we should be able to put in a competitive bid.

The Possible Stadiums

Ready to go :

• Millennium Stadium, Cardiff – Capacity 74,500.
• Cardiff City Stadium – Capacity ~38,000 (after proposed and current expansion).
• Liberty Stadium, Swansea – Capacity ~33,000 (after proposed expansion).
• Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli – Capacity 14,500.

Would need some work :

• Glyndwr University Racecourse, Wrexham – Capacity 10,800. Kop Stand would need to be rebuilt and other parts of the stadium will need renovating.
• Rodney Parade, Newport – Capacity 7,900. Would have to be upgraded to 15,000 all-seater as previously proposed.

Outside chance :

• Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay – Would need a significant redevelopment to ~10,000 seats. Should be doable but might create a "white elephant".
• Island Farm Stadium, Bridgend – Proposed with a capacity of 12-15,000 but it's unlikely to get built as there's no prospective full-time tenant.

The Issues

Wales 2019?
Maybe it's not quite that simple.
(Pic : UEFA)

The failure of the Euro 2020 bid underlined significant weaknesses in the Welsh offer despite possessing one of the most iconic stadiums in world sport. It's perhaps a bigger embarrassment than has been made out.

The biggest single weakness is a lack of hospitality for UEFA bigwigs, as well as a general lack of hotel rooms for supporters and high-quality training facilities for visiting teams. The former might seem like a trivial concern, but the latter is a huge problem.

On top of this is the weakness in the routes offered to/from Cardiff Airport. So if Wales hosted a tournament, it's likely many supporters and teams will fly in to Heathrow and, Cardiff aside, will probably stay in the English cities along the border like Bristol, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester.

The other issue would be the geographic spread of games. South Wales could probably host a tournament by itself if Rodney Parade is completely redeveloped, resulting in inevitable cries from the north of regional favouritism. Mid Wales would miss out completely.

The Racecourse – as it is – would probably fall short of the requirements to host international tournament games and would need to be upgraded. That'll cost money that Wrexham FC don't have, meaning the Welsh Government or Glyndwr University would have to stump up the cash – my guess would be in the £10million range.

But it would be awkward having one venue in the north and 4/5 in the south. So a second venue would need to be found in the north to balance it out, and Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay is, realistically, the only stadium that could be upgraded to the required standards. That's another £20-30million.

It's unlikely the economic returns from hosting the tournament would match the outlay. So the cheapest option would be to keep all games in the south along the M4 corridor, which would probably anger the north where football is traditionally stronger.

There are also other tournaments in this range Wales could consider hosting using the same stadiums, like an Under-20 World Cup, the UEFA Women's Championships, or even a FIFA Women's World Cup.Wales does have many of the foundations to host a mid-level international tournament; but if that's to become a reality, then there's still an awful lot of work to be done and some strategic decisions to be made.