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With Wales’ team having finally qualified for a major international tournament for the first time since 1958, S4C is broadcasting a six-part TV series about the history of Welsh football.

Stori Pêl-droed Cymru kicks off on Tuesday, October 20 (9.30pm, English subtitles available), just ten days after Wales qualifying for Euro 2016.

Falling at the final hurdle has been the story of Wales’ football team with the exception of their success in reaching the final rounds of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden when Wales lost in the quarter finals to Brazil with a 17 year old Pelé scoring his first World Cup goal.

But series’ presenter, author and avid football fan Dewi Prysor says, “Thinking about the way we got to Sweden in 1958, some people say we used up half a century’s worth of luck in the process.

“Considering what we’ve been through since, it would be easy to agree because, as every Wales’ supporter knows, despite the dramatic victories and the thrilling campaigns, ‘almost there’ has been the story every time. We’ve drowned so often near the shore.”

Although Wales didn’t win their way through directly to the 1958 World Cup final rounds, they got a second chance when Arabian teams pulled out refusing to play Israel. Wales beat Israel twice in a two-leg further qualifier and in Sweden they made it through the group stage to the quarter finals.

The first programme in Stori Pêl-droed Cymru takes us all the way back to the formation of the Welsh Football Association at a meeting in the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Wrexham in 1876 and the key role played by solicitor and footballer, Llewelyn Kenrick who advertised in The Field magazine for players to form the first Wales national football team.

Dewi Prysor also tells the stories of disappointment as Wales failed to qualify for four major tournaments – the World Cup in Argentina in 1978, Spain in 1982 and the USA in 1994 and Euro 2004 in Portugal.

Euros Wyn, producer of Stori Pêl-droed Cymru, said, “After so many disappointments, it’s great that followers of the Wales team can celebrate at last. The present team is among the best ever to play for Wales and they have the skills and talent to make a big impression in France next year. We couldn’t have dreamt of a better finale for our series Stori Pêl-droed Cymru.”

A group of Wales football fans will be crossing Europe again this year to donate money and sports kits to children’s charities. Members of the Gôl! supporters charity are heading for Sarajevo to see Wales play Bosnia in the European Championships Qualifying game in October. They will make the 2,500 kilometre journey through nine countries and visit good causes on their way.

The supporters will be paying their own way to get to Bosnia but they will also be raising much needed funds for children’s charities. They will visit the ‘Jugendhilfe-heidehaus’ near Koblenz in Germany and in Sarajevo the ‘Ljubica Ivezic,’ a homeless children’s centre.

They drive to Belgrade after the match where the car will be donated to a charity which works with young people in Kosovo. Gôl! organised similar drives to Azerbaijan and to Macedonia and continues to help children’s homes whenever Wales play. It also aims to improve the image of

The supporters leave Cardiff on Friday, October 2. The journey will take a week and they hope to arrive in Sarajevo the day before the Wales match in nearby Zenica on the 10th of October. Gôl! was established in Azerbaijan 2002 by fans who wanted ‘to make a difference’ when Wales played international matches. It has been active in more than 30 countries. Following that first visit in Baku gifts of footballs, kits and toys have become a regular feature of Welsh fans’ away trips.

One of the trustees, Tim Hartley, said, “We have always been made very welcome when we visit countries across Europe with Wales, from Armenia to Latvia to Iceland. This is our small way of saying thank you, give a little something back and by doing so try to raise the profile of Welsh football fans who travel thousands of miles to support their national team.”

Gôl! is grateful to Macsen Financial Planning, One-to-One Advisors Ltd, Vision Communications, Logic Freight Ltd and Knight Fire and Security for their generous sponsorship of this visit.

To donate to Gôl! go to httpss://www.justgiving.com/T-Hartley

Cardiff City is offering fans the chance to win 10 tickets for the Hull City away game which will be beamed back to the Bluebirds’ stadium.

While the beam back initiative will cost individuals a bargain £10, including food.

As a Trust we welcome this innovation. Full details https://www.cardiffcityfc.co.uk/news/article/keep-your-hull-stubs-2689196.aspx

MEMBERSHIP CARDS: REMINDER.

Please collect your new plastic membership cards. They can be picked up from the Trust office between 1.45pm and 2.30pm before the Huddersfield Town game on Saturday and from 6.30pm and 7.15pm before the Hull City match on Tuesday.

Any members unable to collect their cards from the Trust office during the Huddersfield and Hull matches should email members@ccfctrust.org and we will arrange for the card to be posted out to you.

RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP 

Members whose renewals are overdue or whose memberships expire during September can pay their annual subscription before the Huddersfield game.The office is open from 90 minutes before kick-off. Membership is from just £12 a year – equivalent to just £1 a week.

And if you’re a programme collector why not pop in and take a look at what we have for sale? We’ve received donations, including many from our Premier League season and the last Championship season. These particular programmes cost between £1 and £3, so if you need a programme to complete a set we’d be pleased to see you.

DANNIE ABSE

Welsh Academy, the national society of writers in Wales, is holding a dinner at the Cardiff City Stadium on Friday, October 16 (7.30pm) to celebrate the life and works of Dannie Abse. He was a renowned poet and the society’s former president and a prominent and passionate supporter of Cardiff City.

The evening includes a two-course dinner at Dannie’s beloved Cardiff City Stadium. Welsh publishing house Graffeg will present a special edition poster of Abse’s celebrated poem, ‘Return to Cardiff’, to commemorate the evening. The event is in the company of Gillian Clarke, Cary Archard, Tony Curtis and Lynne Hjelmgaard. Tickets are £25.

The Welsh Government is currently consulting on how to apply the powers that are available to them with regard to the Localism Act (2011) and protecting Assets of Community Value.

Supporters Direct has submitted evidence which supports the view that a tailored strengthened model would be appropriate for Wales including a first refusal option, and a programme of support given to communities encouraging local assets to be owned and controlled by community groups as well being listed.

The  Social Value of Football research https://www.supporters-direct.org/homepage/research/research/social-value] has shown just how important clubs – and by extension their home grounds – are to their local community. The ground is the place that holds the memories of the fans, the team, the local community – often over many years.

You can read the Supporters Direct submission here https://www.supporters-direct.org/news-article/protecting-community-assets-sd-submits-to-welsh-government-consultation

The consultation closes tomorrow (September 11).More details can be found here https://gov.wales/consultations/people-and-communities/protecting-community-assets-consultation/?lang=en