A Letter from an International Fan

When my friends at Cleddau Casuals wrote to me to write an article, I thought: "What can I talk about? I'm just another Argentinian..." And this was perhaps the most relevant fact, and without boasting about myself, I said: "Why would an Argentinian follow the semi-professional Welsh league?" The shortest answer is a love of football, the kind of local, personal football that unites the community, where everyone knows each other, without the plastic of the big leagues, where defeats are numerous, and where victories are much sweeter. There's, for example, the memory of Haverfordwest's great Conference League campaign, beating Shkendija in 2023, or when TNS reached the League Stage of the Conference League this season.

Picture belongs to John Smith/FAW

I wish more people could see not only the potential of this league, not just outside Wales, but in Wales itself. In my opinion, the Cymru Premier's biggest enemy is the Welsh themselves, those who don't see the clubs in their community as something to support, who see them only as a joke, and I say this from experience, having been a River Plate fan, the son of a River Plate fan, even though the stadium is 40 km away. Over the years, I've come to see more clearly what it means to be a fan of a club, It's not just about success, but about having it as a daily part of your life and your neighbourhood, and in my case, it was following my hometown club, San Miguel. With all this, I'm not saying in any way that Cardiff City or Swansea City fans should stop following their clubs, but they could give the club from their city, their town, a chance to make them fall in love. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, you'll have someone evangelising about the Cymru Premier League in Spanish, who will suffer in the European qualifications with you.

X/Cymrufutbol

A note from us: We are incredibly appreciative of Cymrufutbol taking the time to write these words for us. Gracias amigo!