Posted by Ever since Cardiff Rugby were confirmed as being kept under the ownership of the Welsh Rugby Union back in April there has been radio silence around what it actually means for the club.
At the time the WRU statement announced that “Cardiff Rugby will remain under WRU ownership for now and until it makes commercial and strategic sense to revisit this decision”, with CEO Abi Tierney adding that “the WRU has ultimately concluded that it is in the best interests of Welsh rugby for Cardiff Rugby to remain under WRU ownership for now”.
In the six months since supporters have been asking for clarity on how that “is in the best interests of Welsh rugby” and what “commercial and strategic sense” actually looks like, with the club remaining on the books of the Union and them acting as the benefactor under PRA25 seemingly the opposite of their best interests and making commercial and strategic sense.
It is made all the more bizarre by what was dubbed ‘the Hollywood consortium’ still being interested in taking the club back into private ownership, as Martyn Ryan confirmed to the Cardiff Central Podcast over the summer.
Alongside that failure to inform supporters about what the immediate future holds for the club, there has also been a lack of urgency when it comes to getting governance sorted at the Arms Park. Scott Waddington was appointed as Independent Chair in August 2025, but around him there has been an Interim Managing Director and three WRU bods on the Board.
In the last week or so there has been what could be construed as a turning of the tide though.
First there was an interview that Bath co-owner Bruce Craig gave to The Guardian’s Rob Kitson where he references an Anglo-Welsh League, “I think we absolutely need 12 teams. And there are certainly advantages to the Welsh if they can sort their situations out”. Craig went on to specifically reference Cardiff, noting “they would have to be private clubs, so for example Cardiff would have to be spun off [from Welsh Rugby Union ownership].”
This was then followed by a new article on WalesOnline, with no new information as such but just a reminder that the Hollywood consortium remained interested in buying Cardiff despite having been overlooked in favour of Y11 Sport & Media, as well as referencing that there may be other interested parties.
Perhaps most excitingly, Niels Juul – a member of the consortium who ran fashion brand Von Dutch and produced films such as The Irishman and Ferrari – posted a screenshot of that WalesOnline article on his Instagram and confirmed “we are unexpectedly back in the game and if my partners, backers and I get to realize our plans for this awesome club and its amazing fan-base then it would be a (unexpected) dream come true”.
And finally Cardiff this week confirmed that Jon Flatman would take over as CEO when his notice period is up at Barnsley Football Club, arriving in South Wales with a history of raising revenues at clubs he has worked at and sorting them out with long-term stadium solutions. Two things that would go down very well at the Blue & Blacks!
In his remarks within the article, Flatman noted “taking the club back into private, independent ownership and resolving a long-term future at Cardiff Arms Park are the two major priorities, while we remain committed to building through our pathway and build clear communication with direct and accountable governance.”
So in summary; a major player in the English PREM has confirmed he would welcome two Welsh clubs into the league should they be privately owned, a prospective buyer of Cardiff has confirmed they are “back in the game” when it comes to buying the club, and the new CEO has been appointed confirming it is a major priority to return to the Blue & Blacks to private ownership.
There’s been false dawns before, and the hope will always kill you, but this feels like the most sure sign yet that there are active moves to get Welsh sides into the PREM and that Cardiff are hopefully at the forefront of that.
