Explained: Why Ashley Williams and Wales stars snubbed Millennium Stadium return
By Mitch Waddon
Sunday September 4, 2016
Wales captain Ashley Williams says the Dragons snubbed a chance to return to playing at the Principality Stadium in favour of continuing to host home international contests at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The Dragons stopped playing matches at the Millennium Stadium back in 2009 when the new Cardiff City ground was opened due to low interest in the national football side – an issue largely driven by poor results.
However Wales’ qualification for Euro 2016 and incredible push to the semi-finals of the tournament this summer has seen enthusiasm for Chris Coleman’s side among supporters go through the roof.
With the added interest there has been calls for Wales to go back to playing their matches at the 74,500 seater-stadium in the heart of Cardiff, rather than continuing to play at the 33,000 seater on the edge of the city, which would allow more fans to attend fixtures.
But Williams has dismissed those suggestions and says the players would rather continue to have their home games at the Cardiff City Stadium, citing the “great atmosphere” and their decent record of results at the ground.
Speaking in a press conference on Sunday, Williams told reporters: “This is our home ground when we play for Wales, that’s what we feel.
“We fill it out, it will be a great atmosphere. We’ve had a lot of success here, we’re comfortable here. We don’t see the need to move.
“We’ve got some great memories and experiences here and we want to create more.”
Williams’ words echo the stance expressed by Wales boss Chris Coleman earlier in the summer.
“Cardiff City Stadium is our home, It’s where we get 30,000 sell-outs, where the atmosphere is electric, where we spent our last campaign,” Coleman told the press in July.
“The feeling generated by our supporters had a huge impact on the team so we shouldn’t forget that.
“We could gamble and go back to the Millennium Stadium. It is a magnificent stadium, we know that, we could get another 20,000 maybe, but we made a choice.
“Cardiff City Stadium is our home for the next campaign. I would imagine we’re going to stick to that and we should stick to it.
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