Clwb Cymric lead the way with Welsh language on and off the pitch

Stephen Price

A Cardiff football team, comprised entirely of Welsh language speakers, is continuing the success of its founders and proving the power of using Welsh in every aspect of daily life, over half a century since it was founded.

Clwb Cymric was established in September 1969, initially as a men’s football team which competed in the Cardiff and District League Division 5.

The players who were all Welsh speakers and socialised in the New Ely pub (now called The Vulcan Lounge), Cathays, Cardiff, originally named the club as Clwb Pêl-droed Cymry Caerdydd, however the opposition soon referred to them as “The Cardiff Welsh”.

In order to simplify matters and avoid a linguistic division, it was renamed as Clwb Cymric. Cymric is an adjective for Welsh in culture and language, something pivotal to all the team members, and that passion and ethos has remained firmly to the present day.

Yma o hyd

Green is the dominant colour of Clwb Cymric but the first game in the club’s history was played in a red kit. Due to a lack of funding it was probably all they could muster at the time. However, for this first game, the opposition also played in red, which forced the Cymric players to play their first ever competitive game shirtless.

For members of Clwb Cymric, the need and desire to compete and socialise through the medium of Welsh in Cardiff was essential, and this passion has burned since day one. 

Fast forward to 2025, with the team continuing to thrive, those original and pioneering players would scarcely believe how the club has developed.

From an original group of some 15 male players, Clwb Cymric now has over 850 registered players competing in football, hockey and netball. The growth is particularly obvious in the school-age football teams and female participation from the ages of 6-18 competing on a weekly basis. There are also 3 male adult football teams, one female adult football team, 4 adult female netball teams and one female adult hockey team. 

Clwb Cymric has not only grown and widened its horizons numerically, it has also developed to be a truly competitive club with football teams now represented in the Cardiff and District League, South Wales Alliance Premier Division, netball in Division 2 of The Cardiff and District League, and hockey in the South Wales Hockey League Division 2 and won the Welsh Hockey Indoor Competition recently.

The football First team reached the Third Round of the Welsh Cup in 2025 losing 0-3 to Llanelli AFC who have since been promoted to the Welsh Premier. 

To have over 400 members of the public in attendance and the S4C TV cameras there was a further indication of the club’s development.

With so many players, and supportive parents and coaches finding a home in Cardiff, the impacts are incalculable, with children and adults wearing their respective kits around Cardiff and speaking Welsh naturally – making friends and forming communities. For many, this would have been unthinkable just a few decades ago.

Challenges

Historically, Clwb Cymric has dealt with various issues as a Welsh speaking club. From the conception of the club there were linguistic challenges from certain teams and officials.

Although matters have vastly improved, and bilingualism in Wales is at last being recognised as the norm, the club has encountered three incidents in the past two years where match officials have told players not to communicate in Welsh on the pitch. 

Although the relevant league officials and Football Association for Wales were informed and dealt with the incidents, there is still much work to be done

Hywel Price, Chairman of Clwb Cymric shared: “I always wonder how brave these officials would be if they informed certain minority language teams who also compete in Cardiff that they shouldn’t speak their mother tongue/first language.

“It’s also bemusing that as a nation we still have individuals in our own country and our own capital city that see the Welsh language as a threat. Bilingualism is the norm in Europe yet seems to be frowned upon by some in Wales.

“These incidents only harden the resolve to continue as we are.”

He added: “I am often asked about the need to speak Welsh to be a member of any team. The answer is clearly no, however any player training and representing the team would understand and realise that Welsh is the dominant language used in training and matchdays.

“The Welsh Language and culture is the raison d’etre of the club. Since 1969 we have attracted numerous non-Welsh speaking players and coaches who all have bought into the ethos and culture of the club.

“Long may it continue.”

Clwb Cymric is a thriving club which has secured 4 promotions and one Plate win this season within the adult section.

The children also compete in various football festivals across Wales and on Saturday mornings. The foundations are very strong due to the commitment of numerous parents and volunteers, and without them Clwb Cymric wouldn’t exist. And importantly, back to community, the club serves the whole city and is not representative of a particular area of Cardiff, uniting Welsh speakers and learners through the love of the game.

New players are always welcome, so to find out more, or enquire about involvement, visit their Instagram accounts: hocicymric, pelrwydcymric and clwb_cymric