Sport in Cardiff

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 (from 2001 to 2006) it took to rebuild Wembley Stadium, as the FA Cup and Rugby League Challenge Cup finals (and several other competitions) were played at the Millennium Stadium.

In 2008/09, 61% of Cardiff residents regularly participated in sport and active recreation, the highest percentage out of all 22 local authorities in Wales.

[7][8][9][10] The Arms Park has a sporting history dating back to at least the 1850s, when Cardiff Cricket Club (formed 1819) relocated to the site.

Cardiff Athletic Club and the Welsh Rugby Union established two stadia on the site—Cardiff RFC played at their stadium at the northern end of the site, and the Wales national rugby union team played international matches at the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, which opened in 1970.

It was established in 1972 with the objectives of "fostering the knowledge and practice of sport and physical recreation among the public at large in Wales and the provision of facilities thereto".

The Sophia Gardens stadium underwent a multimillion-pound improvement since being selected to host the first 'England' v Australia Test match of the 2009 Ashes series.

The Centre's day-to-day operations are at UWIC and their home matches are played at grounds used by Glamorgan CCC, including Sophia Gardens.

[46][47][48] 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.

[49] Cardiff City currently play in the EFL Championship, the second highest tier of the English football league system.

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.

[citation needed] St Colmcilles was established in 1956 as a successor club to the Emmetts, which had ceased to operate in 1915 due to the First World War.

The WHU is responsible for the administration of all aspects of the game including clubs, competitions, development, internationals, schools, umpiring and universities.

Competitions include men's and women's Welsh Cups, and internationals such as the Eurohockey Nations Trophy (ENT), held in Wrexham in August 2009.

As well as Wales, countries competing at the ENT were Belarus, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Scotland and Switzerland.

[75] The Cardiff Blues (Welsh: Gleision Caerdydd)—one of Wales' four professional, regional, rugby union teams—compete in the Pro14 (this league has included teams from the Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales from its inception, and added teams from Italy in 2010 and from South Africa in 2017), the European Heineken Cup and the Anglo-Welsh LV= Cup, which they won in the 2008–09 season.

[83] The Cardiff Half Marathon takes place in the city each October, attracting up to 27,500 registered runners and 50,000 spectators annually.

[99] These include the WBC Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno heavyweight championship fight at the Arms Park in 1993, and many of Joe Calzaghe's fights, between 2003 and 2007, including his victories over Mikkel Kessler – in the super middleweight reunification bout at the Millennium Stadium, Calzaghe retaining his WBO title and winning the WBA and WBC world titles from Kessler – and over Juan Carlos Giménez Ferreyra—retaining his WBO title at Cardiff Castle[12][100] The British Boxing Board of Control, the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom, has its head office at The Old Library, Cardiff.

[103][104][105][106][107] The Cardiff JIF – standing for 'Just in Front' – cycling club is involved in road, track, cross and mountain bike racing.

[108] Former club riders include Geraint Thomas (2008 Beijing Olympic gold medalist) and Ian Jeremiah (Welsh cross-country Champion).

One of the main routes in Cardiff linking to the rest of the Welsh cycle network is the Taff Trail (Taith Taf).

The trail is a mainly off-road cycle and foot path that follows the Taff valley (Cwm Taf), much of it along the riverbank, between Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay in the south, and the market town of Brecon in the north.

The Taff Trail leaves Cardiff County just north west of Tongwynlais, where it enters Rhondda Cynon Taf.

[118] Russell Swords Fencing Club also meets in Cardiff at the Star Centre, Splott, and trains students in all three weapons.

Welsh Fencing are responsible for the selection and management of the Wales representative squad, who compete in the Winton Cup and the Commonwealth Games.

[125][126][127] Castell Coch Golf Club has a nine-hole, par three, 1,200 yards (1,100 m), pitch and putt course in Tongwynlais, opened in 1988.

Founded in 2004 by ex-Welsh squad rowers, CCRC has easy access to mile after mile of flat water, including the Rivers Ely and Taff – with access to the stretch of water up to Sophia Gardens, past Cardiff Castle and the Millennium Stadium – back to the whole of Cardiff Bay and the club's multilane rowing course there.

Funding by Sport Wales has enabled CCRC to develop its facilities, boat fleet and local community rowing.

The sport returned to the city in 1951, at a purpose built stadium in Penarth Road but the track closed mid season 1953.

The first ever indoor special stages of the World Rally Championship were held at the Stadium in September 2005 and have been an annual event since then.