Yeah, but there are only about 17 football players in Iceland…
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Mae pawb yn Gymry nawr! = Everyone is Welsh now (aka jumping on the bandwagon 
) in tomorrow’s Telegraph
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If we lose, then we’re just Welsh. If we win we’re British and nearly honorary English! Dw i ddim Saisnes, dw’i Gymraes!
NB I heard that some official had banned players’ kids from games because “this is a football championship, not a family party”. It seems to me that football should be for families. If yobs saw kiddies in stands they might be less keen to throw things or rampage!
And now ITV’s This Morning just changed their intro to Welsh, Phillip Schofield made an effort, Holly not so much 
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I’m not into football (not even the kind with the interestingly-eccentric-shaped ball), but at least it has forced The Grauniad to notice that there is a country called Wales (no mean achievement):
C’mon Cymru – we’re all Welsh tonight
Ifor ap Glyn
Forget Irish passports, a Welsh grandmother is the new must-have
(a funny, verging on slightly silly article, but it did at least have a couple of words of Welsh in it).
I cannot conjure up a Welsh Grandma, but I do have one of Irish descent. However, she was actually born in England. Her Mum and Dad were born in Ireland, but I think that’s one generation too many for the passport trick (and it wouldn’t help my wife anyway).
My son wondered if he could get one, but it’s yet another generational gap for him. A pity, as his wife already has an Irish passport, so if he could get one, they’d be well set up.
Well, it was a crazy couple of weeks! I can’t say it’s turned me into a football fan, but I share the pride of having the team go so far. What struck me most was how they went out of their way to incorporate Welsh language into the campaign.
Goodness knows I don’t want to take ££ out of the SSiW coffers, but perhaps as a thank you SSiW could offer the non-1st-language members of the squad some ‘honorary’ subscriptions?! (or maybe get the FAW on board to help promote the courses at the very least? - if you haven’t already! ) @aran @Iestyn
I know they’ve all been taught the anthem and certain phrases (and some may even already be following the courses, who knows?!), but wouldn’t it be great to have a national team who are all fluent!
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Yeah, we’d be happy to, it’s a great idea - but I don’t know who to contact about it - random emails to organisations don’t tend to work very well - does Ifor know anyone he could make the offer to? We’d be happy to do some intensive coaching for them, too (maybe there’s a program idea in there somewhere)…
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I’ll PM you!
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I was thinking, as the game ended, "Ah well, in a rugby tournament there would be another game to decide 3rd and 4th, and to be honest, I wouldn’t fancy the chances of a Cymru win against Germany or France, so likely we’d be 4th, so better come home now. Then I thought - hang on a minute, 4th out of all of Europe, which for all I know includes outliers like Israel and Turkey - and with only 3 million odd people - Gee Cymru am byth!! - that’s brilliant!
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And yet another story about Wales in The Guardian:
Chwarae teg; this competition has really put Wales on the map (for some in the media who should have known where it was, but often seemed not to 
).
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- Currently watching the boys coming home!
- Yesterday, heard lass in Paris say that she lives there and was forever trying to explain to people the difference between Pays de Galles and Portugal, but they all know now!! Mixing with rugby fans, back when, my problem used to be explaining that we wave a dragon and do not sing that song the English sing about being reigned over!
By the time I stopped going, they mostly knew who we are! It is lovely to know that, now, the followers of the round ball know too!
One last question: how do they decide who throws the ball in? I thought it would be the side who didn’t send it out, but sometimes it seemed it was! Is that true or am I just very unobservant? @MickDavies? @louis?
p.s. A mention of Jason Mohammad’s dad driving the bus. Any chance @faithless78 is driving the other? Or is he Jason’s dad?
Ultimately, yes it’s the team who did not kick it out. Be it corner, throw in or goal kick. It’s ale aye the team who didn’t touch it last. Just sometimes slight touches are missed.
I wasn’t driving any open-tops. Our company doesn’t operate them!
I was actually driving out to Barry via Wenvoe at the time the team were travelling to Cardiff Castle. I gets to Culverhouse Cross and hit traffic just as they passed through, thus missing them! If I ran a little earlier I would’ve passed their coaches on the Old Port Road!
I did pass the coaches on the way back mind, parked up empty in the middle of the road in Leckwith while the team were in City Stadium.
Drew the short straw for most of the tournament, working through some games, missed out on tickets for the Semi-final in the Millennium Stadium and worked through the homecoming as well, but the atmosphere here has been fantastic! 
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Does anyone know if Wales were actually fined money by UEFA for showing that football can be enjoyed by families with small children? I cannot find mention of a sum charged. I would love to compare it with whatever Russia had to pay for the terrible behaviour of their fans.
Maybe s few bucket collections could be had and the proceeds taken to UEFA HQ by the players with their small children and a few other families who love the game?
Isn’t the World Cup in Russia? Clearly nobody with children will dare go to that!
edit: It seems from what I can find that Wales were issued a warning: “Thou shalt not take children on to the pitch.” Presumably they face something like disqualification from future events if they disobey!
@MickDavies @cap am I right?
Oh, Mick, I think you already answered me!!! Diolch!
Update: Yes they did charge FAW. In the end it appears only an official warning was given.
There is a petition going round to have it reversed if that so interests you.