Llantwit Major: The Boca Juniors of Wales!

Heard about the self-proclaimed team of misfits and scumbags that take inspiration from the Argentinian giants playing in Crymu South?

Llanilltud Fawr, as Llantwit Major is the town name in Welsh, is a town with a population of 9,530 (according to the 2021) and is located on the coast of the Bristol Channel in south Wales, in 1962 Llantwit Major AFC was founded, the team has a connection with Boca Juniors, while this year it makes its first appearance in the Fenix Trophy. I had the honor of speaking with Ben Dudley, the team's marketing manager.

Christos Kazantzoglou: Tell us about the team, Who is Llantwit Major?

Ben Dudley: Our club was founded in 1962, to represent our small town! To be honest, we never thought we would reach as high as we have, in the past ten years we have gone from playing in the 5th tier, to winning the 2nd tier and playing in Europe - not bad going! We are proud to do things "The Llantwit way" - being too professional or taking ourselves seriously has never been what we do. Tim Watts and John Guy have worked very hard for the club for decades to take us to the level we are now, but we will never forget where we came from. Not everyone likes us, but to be honest we wouldn't have it any other way. Our legendary player Jack Lansdown describes us as misfits and scumbags, and I don't think there is any better way to sum things up! We are also very involved in the local community and try to support good causes, in 2023 we chased a group of Nazis out of our town who had come to protest, and we try to do our bit in terms of raising money for charity or people in the town who need some support.

Christos Kazantzoglou: What is your experience in Fenix ​​Trophy? Why did you choose to play in the tournament?

Ben Dudley: The Fenix Trophy has been amazing! We know we will never play Champions League or Europa League, so this is the closest we can get to playing at that level. The group we got drawn was called "The group of death" and a lot of people probably expected us to get 0 points - so we have done very well to finish 2nd! We also got our record crowd of over 750 people and many people came to watch us for the first time who have since come back, so it has been a super positive experience. Now, we are looking forward to a nice party in Copenhagen, and maybe a football match too!

Christos Kazantzoglou: You play in the “Cymru South” what are your hopes for the future?

Ben Dudley: First of all, we need to avoid relegation this season. We have two games left, and will need to win at least one to get the job done, maybe even both. A lot has gone on behind the scenes this season, but our new manager has come in and done a great job in unifying people. One day we would love to play in the Welsh Premier League, but at the moment we are not ready. Also, we want to come back and win the Fenix Trophy in the next few years!

Christos Kazantzoglou: Last question, tell us about your connection with the Feyenoord Rotterdam and Boca Juniors.

Ben Dudley: Vamoooos Boca! We play in blue and yellow, so it is only natural that we pay tribute to the biggest club in the world who plays in these colours, Boca Juniors. Their fans have been amazing, they support us like crazy and comment on all of our posts on Twitter and Instagram. The dream is that one day they invite us to play in a friendly...Roman, we are waiting for your call!

Feyenoord is a smaller connection, I used to live in Rotterdam and went to watch Feyenoord as my club while I was away. I made a lot of friends at De Kuip, and now they are always looking out for our results and cheering for us.