Michel François Platini is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, and came seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. In recognition of his achievements, he was named a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1985 and became an Officier in 1998. As the president of UEFA in 2015 he was banned from involvement in football under FIFA's organisation, over ethics violations. The ban will last until 2023.
Newport County Association Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Newport, South Wales. The team compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club's usual home colours are amber shirts and black shorts.
The Football Association of Wales is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Wales national futsal team. It is a member of FIFA, UEFA and the IFAB.
Carmarthen Town Association Football Club is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Carmarthen. The team play their home games at Richmond Park. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are gold and black. Formed in 1950, Carmarthen Town was elected into the Welsh Football League in 1953. Their first league honour came in 1959–60, with promotion from Division 2 West to the First Division of the Welsh League. Carmarthen Town's first trophy was the Welsh Football League Cup, which they won in the 1995–96 season. Since then the club have gone on to win the Welsh Cup once and the Welsh League Cup three times. They have also qualified for UEFA competitions on four occasions.
Newport is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, 12 mi (19 km) northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest authority with city status in Wales, and seventh most populous overall. Newport became a unitary authority in 1996 and forms part of the Cardiff-Newport metropolitan area. Newport was the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Great Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839. The population grew considerably during the 2021 census, rising to 159,587, the largest growth of a unitary authority in Wales.
Association football is one of the most popular sports in Wales, along with rugby union. Wales has produced club teams of varying fortunes since the early birth of football during the Victorian period, and in 1876 a Wales national football team played their first international match. Football has always had a close rivalry with the country's de facto national sport rugby union, and it is much discussed as to which is Wales' more popular game. The Football Association of Wales (FAW), was established in 1876 to oversee the Wales national team and govern the sport in Wales, later creating and running the Welsh football league system.
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by Dragons RFC. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's central bus and railway stations via Newport Bridge or Newport City footbridge. There is no spectator car park at the ground but a number of multi-storey car parks are nearby.
The Cardiff City Stadium is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team.
Newport International Sports Village is a multi-sport complex located at Lliswerry in the South East of the city of Newport, South Wales. It is known locally as Spytty Park, the name coming from the original Spytty Fields on which it is built.
Sport in Wales plays a prominent role in Welsh culture. Like the other countries of the United Kingdom, Wales enjoys independent representation in major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and in the Rugby World Cup, but competes as part of Great Britain in some other competitions, including the Olympics.
William Gaillard is the director of communications and public affairs for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). He is also the Senior Advisor to the President of UEFA Michel Platini.
Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. Working alongside partners such as governing bodies of sport and local authorities, they aim to encourage sporting ambitions in the young and promote championship standards nationally.
Most leisure centres in Cardiff, capital of Wales, are owned by Cardiff Council. Since 2016, the running of eight formerly Council-run leisure centres has been outsourced to Greenwich Leisure Limited, operating under their 'Better' branding. Channel View Leisure Centre continues to be managed by Cardiff Council, whilst the Cardiff International Pool in Cardiff Bay is run separately by another private company.
The bidding process of UEFA Euro 2016 ended on 28 May 2010 when France was announced to be the host. Four bids came before the deadline, 9 March 2009, which were France, Italy and Turkey as single bids and Norway and Sweden as a joint bid. Norway and Sweden eventually withdrew their bid in December 2009.
Penybont Football Club is a Welsh football club that plays in the Cymru Premier. The current club was formed in 2013, following the merger of Bridgend Town and Bryntirion Athletic. Penybont play their home games at Bryntirion Park.
The Vale Resort is a golf, spa and leisure hotel and resort in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. It consists of a hotel, spa, restaurant, two championship golf courses, golf clubhouse and a conference centre.
The CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence was opened in May 2014. The CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, Wales, is a sports facility located in and run by Caerphilly County Borough Council, South Wales. The Centre's facilities include a FIFA 2 star 3G Football Pitch, an IRB 22 ratified 3G Rugby Pitch, 2 conference rooms, a strength and conditioning room, medical & first aid rooms, a community room, 2 grandstands; 1 on each pitch and 2 balconies overlooking both pitches for performance analysis purposes.
Cardiff City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. They are one of a few Welsh sides to play in the English football league system, rather than the Welsh system. The other teams are Swansea City, Newport County, Wrexham, and Merthyr Town.
