' CARDIFF CITY FC / HISTORY / POTENTIAL / FANS '
Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2021 9:31 am
Cardiff has a large catchment area from which to draw its supporter base. With only two professional teams (Swansea City and Newport County) sharing the South Wales region, Swansea being around 48 miles (78 kilometres) away, the club enjoys considerable support from both the city of Cardiff and the surrounding South Wales Valleys. With in 50 miles of Cardiff their are 1.5 million people including Cardiff itself.
As a Welsh club playing in the English football league system, national identity is believed to be a major factor in fan support, and some of the club's matches are considered to be Welsh cross-border rivalries with England.
In the 1950's and early 1960's Cardiff would attract up to 60,000 for a home game and regularly had 40,000 and 50,000 home crowds.
During the 1980s, as the club struggled in the lower divisions of English football, crowds dropped to an average of 3,000 per match. Crowds have gone as low as 1,400 for home games. An increase in the club's fortunes saw a steady improvement in crowd numbers. The average attendance at home matches rose from 3,594 to 12,522 between 1997 and 2002. Promotion to the second tier in 2003 brought further increases in numbers.
The opening of the Cardiff City Stadium led to average attendances reaching 20,000 fans, culminating with highs of between 28,000 and 33,000 during two seasons in the Premier League.Despite this increase, its been said many times potentially Cardiff get get 50,000 fans at home in the Premier League, the club has often been regarded as attracting fewer spectators than similarly placed teams as when times changes support drops to very low crowds.
This has been attributed to several factors such as the club's controversial change to red shirts between 2012 and 2015—some supporters being perceived as fairweather fans, and a lack of atmosphere.
Welsh national identity also contributes to the supporter culture of the club. "Men of Harlech", a song largely made famous by the 1964 film Zulu, which depicted a battle involving a Welsh regiment, and "I'll Be There", a take on a miner's song that was popular during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, are both frequently sung before and during matches.
The Ayatollah, an act involving raising both arms up and down above the head in a patting motion, has become synonymous with the club and its supporters as a celebratory gesture since its adoption in the early 1990s.
The action has become popular with Cardiff fans outside football to show support for the club with boxer Nathan Cleverly, Olympic swimmer David Davies and rugby player Gareth Thomas all having performed the action at some points of their careers.
As a Welsh club playing in the English football league system, national identity is believed to be a major factor in fan support, and some of the club's matches are considered to be Welsh cross-border rivalries with England.
In the 1950's and early 1960's Cardiff would attract up to 60,000 for a home game and regularly had 40,000 and 50,000 home crowds.
During the 1980s, as the club struggled in the lower divisions of English football, crowds dropped to an average of 3,000 per match. Crowds have gone as low as 1,400 for home games. An increase in the club's fortunes saw a steady improvement in crowd numbers. The average attendance at home matches rose from 3,594 to 12,522 between 1997 and 2002. Promotion to the second tier in 2003 brought further increases in numbers.
The opening of the Cardiff City Stadium led to average attendances reaching 20,000 fans, culminating with highs of between 28,000 and 33,000 during two seasons in the Premier League.Despite this increase, its been said many times potentially Cardiff get get 50,000 fans at home in the Premier League, the club has often been regarded as attracting fewer spectators than similarly placed teams as when times changes support drops to very low crowds.
This has been attributed to several factors such as the club's controversial change to red shirts between 2012 and 2015—some supporters being perceived as fairweather fans, and a lack of atmosphere.
Welsh national identity also contributes to the supporter culture of the club. "Men of Harlech", a song largely made famous by the 1964 film Zulu, which depicted a battle involving a Welsh regiment, and "I'll Be There", a take on a miner's song that was popular during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, are both frequently sung before and during matches.
The Ayatollah, an act involving raising both arms up and down above the head in a patting motion, has become synonymous with the club and its supporters as a celebratory gesture since its adoption in the early 1990s.
The action has become popular with Cardiff fans outside football to show support for the club with boxer Nathan Cleverly, Olympic swimmer David Davies and rugby player Gareth Thomas all having performed the action at some points of their careers.