Tag: Sport

Football event 24/5/12 – Stebonheath, Llanelli

On Thursday May 24, members of a National Assembly for Wales committee held an open mic event in Stebonheath, Llanelli, to listen to people’s views on the Welsh Premier League.
The event was part of the Community, Equality and Local Government Committee inquiry into the Welsh Premier League.
Ann Jones, chair of the Committee said after the event: “it was great to get out and meet people who are interested in the Welsh Premier League and are dedicated to making it, and their clubs successful.
We heard a number of important points about how the Welsh Premier League can be developed and we will be putting these points to the Welsh Football Association when they come to speak to us in the Senedd.
We will be meeting more Welsh Premier League fans shortly, when we go to Llandudno FC http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/llandudno/ and we hope to hear from fans from all over North Wales.”
The video below includes videos with Colin Staples from the Welsh Football Trust, and Nigel Richards from Llanelli AFC, speaking about the main discussion points of the event.

Thanks to Nigel and everyone at Llanelli AFC for hosting the event. The event in Llandudno FC takes place on May 31 at 7:30pm: http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/llandudno/news/welsh-premier-league-open-foru-589890.html

Joyce Watson: “Petitions Committee discuss petition to establish a Welsh international cricket team”

As a Member of the Petitions Committee, I stepped in to chair the Petitions Committee meeting of 13 March in the Chair’s absence. Petitions Committee meetings always cover a varied range of subjects, but Tuesday’s meeting was particularly interesting, due to a lively discussion on the petition calling for the Welsh Government to support the establishment of a Welsh international cricket team.

The Committee first considered this petition in October 2011. After this, the Committee decided to collect balanced information on whether or not there was support for a national cricket team. This information can be found at the following link: http://www.senedd.assemblywales.org/mgIssueHistoryHome.aspx?IId=1901

Owing to the strong views that were expressed both for and against the petition, the Committee decided to bat it back to the respondents and discuss the issue. Key players invited to the discussion were: the petitioner, Jonathan Edwards MP, Mohammad Asghar AM, Sport Wales, Glamorgan Cricket and Cricket Wales.

The discussion covered many points, including the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a Wales team, the actual process of establishing the team and the effects on funding of the sport.

In addition, the effect on Glamorgan County Cricket Club was discussed. At the moment, Glamorgan participates in ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) competitions at the highest level and can bid to host test matches involving the England team at their home stadium. Cricket Wales argue that if Wales became an independent cricketing nation, Glamorgan’s status as a first-class county would be jeopardised, as would its ECB funding. However, others argue that as a member and guarantor of the ECB, Glamorgan could continue to receive funding and retain its status.

The discussion also touched on the Woolf review of the governance of the International Cricket Council, which recommended the simplifying of different levels of ICC membership, which could also have an effect on any independent Welsh team. The ICC is due to consider the report and its recommendations in April 2012.

All the points that came out of the discussion will be discussed by the Petitions Committee at its next meeting, on 27 March, at 9 am. You can watch the meeting live on Senedd TV or you can watch the meeting live from the public gallery in the Senedd.

I would like to thank all participants for attending the meeting, and was delighted to see the tweet from Jonathan Edwards MP: “sesiwn buddiol iawn ddoe, dangos gwerth fforwm fel pwyllgor petitions ir broses democrataidd”.

Roughly translated into English, it says: ‘a very beneficial session yesterday – it shows the value added to the democratic process by a forum like the Petitions Committee’.

Joyce Watson AM