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Wrexham face likely relegation from the Football League. This would leave only two Welsh clubs in the Football League, cup finalists Cardiff City and Swansea City who are likely to join them in the Championship next year. Both these teams are from South Wales, unlike Wrexham who are from North Wales. At one time there was a fourth Welsh club in the Football League, Newport County, also from the southern coastal area. They now play in an English non-league competition, as do Merthyr Tydfil. Other teams compete in the Welsh League, but attendances are generally quite small in a country where rugby is the game that arouses the greatest passions. Swansea City already have a splendid new stadium and Cardiff City are hoping to have one soon.
The future looks a lot bleaker at Wrexham. Fans would like to buy a stake in the club but look set to reject an appeal from the club's co-owner for a non-strings donation of the £300,000 war chest they have built up over a six year period. Businessman Geoff Moss, who has just sold his Chester-based holiday company to Thomas Cook in a multi-million pound deal, offered to match pound for pound any cash injection from the Wrexham Supporters' Trust. £600,000 would amount to around 25 per cent of the current annual turnover with the club's finances likely to be hit as it faces up to life outside the Football League for the first time in more than 80 years. WST chairman Rob Griffiths said that they were delighted by the offer for their trust president to sit on the club's board: 'But we have to question why the appointment has been linked to a request for us to make a £300,000 donation to the club. I think it extremely unlikely that our members would be prepared to donate £300,000 to what is a privately-owned business unless we receive shares in return.'
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