By Chris O'Brien
June 24 2004

It's all change again, with City owner Sam Hammam now announcing that the club will compete in the FAW Premier Cup next season. The controversial Lebanese businessman had previously threatened the Welsh Football Association by claiming he would not allow the Bluebirds to field an XI next term.

The situation at Ninian Park is becoming more and more confusing by the day. Only days after claiming Cardiff City would never participate in the FAW Premier Cup again, controversial Bluebirds owner Sam Hammam has vowed to enter the club into the BBC-backed competition for at least another season.

The U-turn from Hammam is no surprise. The FAW threatened to pull the plug on a possible training development at Cardiff City's possible new stadium should the Bluebirds pull out of the Premier Cup, and thus it doesn't take a genius to figure out the next move of the Lebanese businessman.

"There are other sites under consideration for the national team's training centre and if he pulls out of the Premier Cup, I'm sure there will be pressure for us to consider all the options." read a statement from the Welsh Football Association following Hammam's initial threats regarding the cup.

"How could we get into bed with a man who is so willing to make snap decisions like that?"

It is thought that Hammam has had meetings with the FAW since these statements were made and the club will now participate in the competition that offers a £100,000 prize cheque to the winners. Considering our mounting debt, this is money that surely could not be sniffed at, but the City owner has announced that the Bluebirds will only field a weak side in the competition.

"I must stress we're not playing our first team, we're not even playing our reserve team," declared Hammam.

"Our best 18 players on that week will be earmarked for the League."

How seriously we can take these quotes remains to be seen. Last season Hammam said that the club would only field youth players in the Premier Cup, and yet we played an almost full-strength side at the Racecourse in the semi-finals and were still knocked out on penalties. The 2004/2005 will again feature Cardiff entering at the quarter-final stage with Wrexham and rivals Swansea in addition to Welsh Premier champions Rhyl and four group stage qualifiers.

Meanwhile, arguments between Hammam and the FAW continue over the issue of European qualification. As Bluebird to the Bone previously reported, the Association Council have decided not to allow the six 'exile' clubs back into the Welsh Cup due to confusion over qualification rules for the Uefa Cup. Hammam has vowed to do all he can to find a backdoor European entry route for the Bluebirds, and has again spoke about the club fielding a 'second side' in the Welsh Premier with the possibility of European Cup football as a result.

The entire situation is about as clear as mud, but what we can draw from this is that Cardiff City will take part in the FAW Premier Cup for an eighth time next year. Personally, I am pleased by this as I feel the competition is worth more than we have given it credit for since the arrival of Hammam in 2000. Not only does it offer a possible trophy and prize money cheque, but it is highly financially beneficial for smaller Welsh clubs also. The club is hated enough by the rest of Wales as it is, so competing in the Premier Cup is vital to not further tarnish relations.

The cup is currently held by Wrexham, who have always taken the competition very seriously and have scooped nearly £1million in prize cash as a result. After a hard-fought quarter-final victory over Total Network Solutions, the Robins went onto beat City in the semi-finals due to the lottery of spot-kicks before hammering Welsh treble winners Rhyl 4-1 in the final at Belle Vue.