The Case For Bala -

On the face of it, the case for me choosing to follow Bala Town is less obvious as I have no family connection to the area, but there are certain aspects that make Bala unique!

Founded sometime in the 1880's they are a much older club than Carmarthen, but they didn't achieve promotion to the WPL until 2009. In their first 2 seasons in the top division Bala could have been relegated, but were let off by the fact that the teams who would have been promoted did not reach the required criteria to play in the WPL. Since then there has been a dramatic improvement in fortune for the club. They finished in the top 6 last season, qualifying for the Championship play offs when the league split. Infact, they finished one game away from Europe, when a final game defeat at Llanelli stopped them from competing in the same competition as Liverpool and Spurs.

Bala are a club that is constantly moving up. 10 years ago they were playing in the Welsh League (Wrexham area). A series of promotions and cup wins later and they have finished as the 5th best team in the Welsh football pyramid. The only team that I can think of to compare this sort of rapid promotion with is Wimbledon. It represents a fantastic achievement to go from being not much more than a standard Saturday team that you or I could turn up to play for, to becoming a decent semi professional team. I admire this sort of thing. Ambition is great. Too often clubs are laughed at for dreaming, but if a club is run correctly dreams can happen in reality. If they keep moving upwards in the next 12 months, following them could be a lot of fun!

Maes Tegid

Bala remind me of a local team who I have a lot of time for, Forest Green Rovers. Not only because of a series of promotions from a very low level to becoming a respected club at a much higher level, but also because of the fact that they are small town teams. According to the 2001 census, 1980 people live in Bala. They can get 400 / 500 people watching a game. Bearing in mind that people are not likely to travel a long way to support them, this could represent 25% of the local population supporting their team. It suggests to me that there is a real spirit of community about the club. That the players are seen as representatives of the town, and that the people of the town are right behind the players when they stick the shirt on. This appeals massively to me, as it is how I used to feel about my local rugby team.

Where I may have concerns about Bala it is in the way that they are funded. A couple of people have suggested that they have a principle backer who bankrolls them, enabling their continuous improvement. If this is true, it raises a problem. Part of the reason I have become so disillusioned with professional football is because of the game becoming less of a sport and more of a rich mans plaything. Even at the lower levels, Macclesfields are gradually being replaced by Fleetwoods, Herefords by Crawleys. I admire ambition, but only if it is through a gradual growth and that the club is sustainable in its own right. This will need a bit of research to see if it is true. I love the little team punching above it's weight if it is done properly.

Bala do apparently have a reputation for getting the ball down and playing. This ties in nicely with my belief of how football should be played. Premier League to Sunday League I believe a football is made to travel predominantly on the floor. Sport wise there is nothing so upsetting as watching 9 / 10 year olds lumping channel balls on a Saturday morning. If Bala play the right way it will definitely tempt me.. 

Another positive in Bala's favour is the fact that Mid / North Wales is my favourite place on Earth! Picking Bala would give me an excuse to spend the occasional weekend sat by Llyn Tegid.  Another plus side is that, according to the census, Bala has one of the highest percentage of Welsh speakers in the country. This would give me a great chance to practice, even if they do say milk in a funny way!!

Bala are said to be a friendly club, they certainly replied to my weird tweets and humoured my grammatically non-sensical Welsh. Both Bala and Carmarthen have replied to my messages and I am left in the odd position of feeling that both teams actually want me to follow them, even though I am a total stranger to them. I can't remember ever thinking that my League 1 team wanted me to support  them, they just take my love for granted!


I'd welcome the views of any Bala supporter.. Feel free to leave a message, it might help me make a decision!!