page_title: Sport in Cardiff
section_title: Football
hierarchical_section_title: Sport in Cardiff / Team sports / Football
caption_attribution_description: Cardiff City Vs Celtic, Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales. Final score 0-0.
context_page_description: Sport in Cardiff is dictated by, amongst other things, its position as the capital city of Wales, meaning that national home sporting fixtures are nearly always played in the city. All of Wales' multi-sports agencies and many of the country's sports governing bodies have their headquarters in Cardiff and the city's many top-quality venues have attracted world-famous sport events, sometimes unrelated to Cardiff or to Wales.
  The city hosts numerous international sporting events, be it independently or on behalf of Wales or the United Kingdom. Rugby fans around the world have long been familiar with the Cardiff Arms Park and its successor the Millennium Stadium, a visible presence from in and around the city. Early this century, hundreds of thousands of English football and rugby league supporters visited Cardiff during the six years it took to rebuild Wembley Stadium, as the FA Cup and Rugby League Challenge Cup finals were played at the Millennium Stadium. In 2009, Cardiff hosted the first Ashes cricket test, between England and Australia, to be held in Wales.
context_section_description: Cardiff City F.C. (founded 1899 as Riverside FC) played their home games at Ninian Park from 1910 until the end of the 2008–09 season. The Bluebirds' (as Cardiff City are known) new home is the Cardiff City Stadium, which they share with Cardiff Blues. Cardiff City have played in the English Football League since the 1920–21 season, climbing to Division 1 after one season. Cardiff City are the only non-English team to have won The Football Association Challenge Cup, beating Arsenal in the 1927 final at Wembley Stadium. The Bluebirds were runners up to Portsmouth in the 2008 final, losing 1–0 at the new Wembley Stadium. Cardiff City currently play in the Premier League, the highest division overall in the English football league system. 
  Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C. of the Athletic Union of Cardiff Metropolitan University, based in Cyncoed, play in the Cymru Premier, having been promoted from Welsh League Division One in 2016. They were winners of the Welsh League Cup for the 2018-19 season. 
  
  Cardiff has numerous smaller clubs including Bridgend Street A.F.C., Caerau (Ely) A.F.C., Cardiff Corinthians F.C., Cardiff Grange Harlequins A.F.C., and Ely Rangers A.F.C. who all play in the Welsh football league system.
  In addition to men's football teams Cardiff City Ladies of the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division are based in the city. Teams in the Welsh Premier Women's Football League are Cardiff Met. Ladies, Cyncoed Ladies and Cardiff City.
  Gôl is Wales' first purpose built 5 a side football centre. Based in Canton, there are ten floodlit outdoor 5-a-side courts and one 7-a-side pitch, all using artificial 'Soccer turf'—designed to play and feel like grass.
  Six FA Cup finals were held at the Millennium Stadium (from the 2000–01 to 2005–06 seasons) while Wembley Stadium was being rebuilt.
  The Football Association of Wales (Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) (FAW), based at East Moors, Cardiff Bay, is the third oldest football association in the world. It has been the governing body of football in Wales since its formation in 1876.  The FAW is one of the five associations—the others are FIFA, the English FA, the Scottish FA and the Irish FA—that make up a body called the International Football Association Board (IFAB). The IFAB maintain the laws that govern football, known officially as the "Laws of the Game".
caption: The official opening match of the Cardiff City Stadium between Cardiff City and Celtic
exif: {}