To kick off our ‘talking football’ series we met up with Mark Adams, general secretary of the South Wales FA.

Mark kindly agreed to give his time to sit down and talk about grassroots and everything football.

Very much a football man, Adams has been involved in the game since a young age.

However, rather than putting in the challenges or dribbling with a ball, Adams was the the man holding the cards, blowing the whistle and making all important decisions.

Adams’ refereeing career spanned a total of twelve years in the South Wales area before it was brought to a premature end after sustaining a knee injury.

Unable to draw himself away from the sport he loved, Adams then became secretary of the Taff-Ely league before later progressing to take charge of the South Wales girl’s league in 1996.

In 2006 he became assistant secretary to John Phillips within the South Wales FA before later assuming the position as general secretary in 2013.

He is an avid Cardiff City supporter and a season ticket holder.

It would be fair to say he has experience of the game in generous portions.

Conversation soon got underway.

The first topic of discussion: the newly proposed ‘South Wales Alliance League‘ to be implemented into Welsh football as from next season.

“The Alliance League will see the combining of the amateur and senior leagues currently in existence,” Adams began.

“This will create three divisions each with sixteen teams,” he added.

We were impressed, the tightening of the leagues appears quite a promising idea, but then the obvious question struck; how exactly would the competing teams be allocated into the new league system, how would it work?

“Teams will compete for their places.” Adams replies enthusiastically.

“We have given all teams prior notice and a full brief. They now know they have the next twelve months to compete for their place in the Alliance League. Their finishing positions in the respective league tables this season will dictate the tier of the Alliance league in which they will be placed.”

Clarity was beginning to form, the idea seemed water-tight.

But why the change? What was the issue with the already established league system?

“Previously we had a problem with two leagues competing side-by-side at the same level,” Adams explains, “this meant that perhaps teams were not always testing themselves to the full extent of their abilities”.

“I feel this will raise both the standard and competition of Welsh football. The Alliance League will be one that teams strive to be in.”

Adams’ desire to continuously improve the standard and structure of Welsh football was now evident, and quite infectious, as he continued to expand upon the intricacies of the Alliance League.

“The top eight teams in each division of the amateur and senior leagues at the end of this season will become part of the top tier of the Alliance League. This will become the most senior league under the control of the South Wales FA”.

“In this highest tier the top teams would be playing each other, competing to be the best that there is”.

Hinting at his desire for top quality football, we pressed Adams for his personal expectations for the Alliance League.

“Football first and foremost should be enjoyable but also retain a competitive edge. The league will provide the opportunity for teams to experience some real progression”.

Adams concluded “all teams in the league have voted unanimously in favour of the Alliance League and the proposal seems to have gone down well”.

Talk then switched to grassroots football itself, something of which we were eager to glean Adams’ opinion and views upon.

“It’s a major challenge to operate and sustain grassroots football, not an easy task at all”.

Adams points out that the South Wales FA are constantly aiming for the sustainability of grassroots football and to ensure its continuous progression.

“It is important that the youth levels are nurtured, not only because they could be the next top players of the generation, but also so that more generally they can form the adult teams and leagues of tomorrow”.

At this point we put it to Adams that 2,360 teams dropped out of competitive grassroots football in the UK between 2009 and 2014. He agreed that the figures were disappointing.

“We cannot let it get to a stage where adult and senior grassroots football is no more, this is why the South Wales FA has a focus on sustainability and improving the game”.

So, what about facilities and investment? It is common knowledge that at this time of the year, many teams are forced into missing a series of games as a result of postponement due to inadequate pitch surfaces.

“Investment is being made and new pitches are being created. It is true that there is not enough 3G artifical surfaces for teams to play on, but changes are slowly being made,” Adams began.

“The high-quality artificial pitches over at Llanrumney are the latest addition to the local footballing area, which Cardiff University now own. Teams are queuing up to use it but more are certainly needed”

Adams acknowledged that many grassroots teams face issues with their local authorities – as highlighted in our last profile piece with AFC Perthcelyn.

He informed us that in Port Talbot, local authorities are looking at a proposal for teams to take over the management of the grounds they train and play on.

“We can listen to clubs but the majority of the land that teams train and play on belong to the local authorities and is therefore under their control

“The South Wales FA attend as many meetings as possible to listen to the views of local grassroots clubs,” said Adams.

“We try to make ourselves as available as possible, alongside our social media presence where we aim to be transparent in all that we do”.

We were then interested in what Adams could give us in terms of numbers. Given the content in our recent ‘club profile’ series, we were keen to identify whether grassroots participation had been affected.

Adams began by confirming that almost a 5% decrease in competing teams had occurred over the last season.

“Last season we had 482 registered clubs, this season that figure stands at 458”.

Likewise, refereeing figures are also down. A total of 374 referees were registered with the Welsh leagues last season, a figure that has now decreased to 337.

The graphics below portray a percentage indication:

The decrease in teams and officials is certainly not a positive feature, but Adams was quick to outline that this is only a small percentage, especially when considered that teams often see players leave due to work or lifestyle related commitments.

We then put to Adams some of the queries we have received via Twitter , namely the issue of grassroots teams being unable to recruit players from outside of their designated ‘catchment area’.

“The rule on the catchment area of teams is one made and implemented by FA Wales and is not under control by the South Wales FA,” Adams tells us.

“It is however under review”.

Expanding upon the point, Adams said, “some teams did have the option to move leagues in order to enter another catchment area, but they turned down this opportunity as they wanted to continue to play on Saturdays rather than Sunday”.

We concluded our discussion with Adams by asking him our classic ‘talking football’ questions on his beloved Cardiff City.

Listen below to hear his greatest Cardiff City XI, most memorable moments and predictions for the current season.

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For more information on the South Wales FA, their league systems and competing teams visit their website

What are your views on this feature? Do you have any experiences regarding grassroots football in the South Wales area which you would like to share? Please comment using the section below or tweet The Grassroots Investigator @TweetGrassroots.