Posted by When the Cardiff Rugby Twitter account trailed some incoming news on Tuesday evening it was a pleasant surprise. A new forwards coach perhaps, or another unexpected signing as Ciaran Parker had been.
What I wasn’t expecting to read is that all of a sudden the club’s history is set for another dramatic chapter as “heads of terms have been signed to change the major shareholding of the club and unlock significant investment”.
Now my phone is on fire. We’re the Manchester City of rugby union, the money will come flooding in, but where is it coming from? Can we sign Malcolm Marx? Will we lose the club’s heritage? Surely Cardiff Athletic Club won’t agree to it? Will the newly redeveloped Arms Park still have a terrace and dodgy loos? Is it Y11 and the Ospreys merger, or worse, is it all a big sportswashing exercise?
Some digging and questioning brought a few answers; it’s a British consortium fronted by British people with links to individuals at the club, but it seems that ultimately the money comes from the Middle East. Specifically the United Arab Emirates. It’s not Y11 and we’re not the Cardiff Ospreys.
“I can assure you this isn’t sportswashing” I’m told with authority. A big relief as that would be some tough internal conflict to overcome. No amount of sporting success is worth being a vehicle to help human rights abusers deflect attention from their inherently dodgy regimes, although walking away from the club would be monumentally tough.
That’s as far as the information got though. Just going off the answers given and the vibes, as they might say on Love Island, it feels like this announcement may have come out slightly too early. There are still a lot of hurdles and legal wrangling to overcome before any money starts flowing through the Arms Park.
I’d imagine there will need to be shareholder approval, especially around the current cap on any one party owning more than 24.9% of the business. Cardiff Athletic Club will also have to be on side courtesy of their heritage shares, and then there’s the final detail on the purchase itself and all parties being happy to sign on the dotted line.
However, there was clearly a desire to avoid any leaks, which is understandable with rumours spreading and mutating like a covid variant through Welsh rugby, and beyond that there seems to be an unbridled level of excitement over this within the walls of power.
The natural pessimist that supporting Cardiff Rugby, and Welsh rugby generally over the last few years, has driven us all to become puts a noisy devil on the shoulder shouting that it’s too good to be true, or that the people involved will turn out to be untrustworthy, or they’re in it for a quick buck and we’ll end up on the scrapheap with Worcester, Wasps and London Irish.
Logically though, there is plenty to placate that with a business savvy angel on the shoulder. The Arms Park has long been an attractive investment for someone with deep pockets to redevelop fully. Prime city centre land in one of the fastest growing cities in Europe, do that redevelopment properly and there’s more than enough money to keep investors happy, CAC happy and for the rugby club to thrive.
There’s no need, or really any possibility, for anyone to come in and make a quick buck or asset strip. Through the rugby club, conferencing, hotels, retail and apartments there is a significant return to be made over a long period of time, lending itself to a long-term partner.
Then the cherry on the cake is the statement from the family of Peter Thomas. It is, after all, they who are selling to the new investors, rather than the club itself. If they say they are “confident the new group of investors have the very best interests of Cardiff Rugby at heart and are the right people to deliver upon the legacy (of Peter)” then that is very encouraging.
Leading and funding the Blue and Blacks was one of Peter’s great passions, and I’ve absolutely no doubt that his family will ensure that legacy lives on for many years to come.
We’ve been burned before when it comes to new dawns for Cardiff Rugby, but this one seems to be the realest deal we’ve seen for a long time. Perhaps it is time to shake off the worries and embrace a positive future at the Arms Park. I sincerely hope so!
Cardiff Rugby Life 