Swansea City: Welsh in England Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Typically, sports teams play in the national league of their home country, however, do Swansea City AFC (a Welsh football team) play their matches in the Welsh Leagues?

Answer: No

Swansea seem to be an exception to the rule as they are one of a few Welsh based teams that do not play in their respective national league. Instead, Swansea City play in the English leagues along with the likes of Cardiff City FC, Wrexham FC and Newport County AFC.

2. Like many other British football clubs, Swansea City AFC have switched their home stadium. Before moving to the Liberty Stadium, what was the name of Swansea City's home ground?

Answer: Vetch Field

The Vetch Field was home to Swansea City AFC before the club moved to the Liberty Stadium at Landore in 2005. Vetch Field was a major sporting venue in Wales for 93 years as the football club based in south Wales played their home matches there since 1912. Furthermore, the Welsh national football and rugby league teams have played matches there.

The other grounds are not based in Swansea with The Gnoll being found in nearby Neath and Ninian Park and Sophia Gardens were based in the Welsh capital, Cardiff.

3. One of the prized statistics in British football (and world football for that matter) is related to the number of appearances a player has made for a club. Which of the following players made 699 appearances in all competitions for Swansea City AFC, making him the all-time appearances leader by the time he left in 2004?

Answer: Roger Freestone

Roger Freestone was the goalkeeper for Swansea City AFC from 1991 to 2004, and in that time he made just under 700 appearances for the club. He had previously been a player for Swansea City on loan from Chelsea in 1989 and Freestone, and even managed to make the Welsh national team.

4. Way back in the 1925-26 football season, Welsh based Swansea City FC reached the late stages of the prestigious FA Cup competition. In what round were they eliminated, thus smashing their dreams of overall victory?

Answer: Semi-final

Reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup was quite a remarkable performance for a football team that was then in the Second Division of the English leagues. They would replicate this performance decades later when they made it to the semi-finals stage of the 1963-64 FA Cup competition. Once again, the Welsh side would be denied access to the all important final.

5. The dream of any football club is to reach the top flight in the professional leagues, and this was the case with Swansea City AFC. Since the establishment of the club in 1912, had Swansea City ever reached the top division?

Answer: Yes

Swansea City AFC had a turbulent history regarding their progression through the divisions of the English Football League system. With promotion and relegation affecting the club with a relatively high frequency, there were never many periods (though some do exist) where they stayed in one league for a substantial period of time.

The team from south Wales did manage to make the top flight of English football when they played in the First Division during the 1981-82 season. This was before the introduction of a new top tier of the game, the Premiership, in 1992. Swansea City would not remain in the First Division for long however, as they were relegated after just two seasons.

6. A man from Scotland by the name of Alex Ferguson made 280 football league appearances for Swansea City AFC. However, when one mentions the name Alex Ferguson in football circles, only one man springs to mind, a manager of a very successful club. Which of the following teams with the nickname the "Red Devils", did Sir Alex Ferguson manage for many years?

Answer: Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson managed perhaps the most famous football club in the world for over 20 years. This team, Manchester United, was under the management of Ferguson since 1986, and since then the team has won nearly every club competition there was to win.

The most successful year in Manchester United's history came in the 1998-99 football season when the team won the "treble", something never done by an English club before. This meant they had won the Premiership title, the FA Cup title, and the UEFA Champions League all in one season.

7. In the game of football, a team earns one point for each goal they score and thus it is rare to see one team reach extremely high scores. However, has Swansea City AFC ever scored more than 10 goals in one match?

Answer: Yes

Swansea City FC did manage to score a remarkable number of goals in a 1982 European Cup Winners' Cup competition against a Maltese club, Sliema Wanderers. It was the first of two legs of a first round match, and the result was a 12-0 runaway victory for the Welsh-based team.

It must have been quite disheartening for the Maltese team to even turn up to the second leg with a very slim chance of scoring anywhere near the necessary 12 goals to level things up.

8. By the turn of the millennium, there were two main types of perimeter flags used in UK professional football, and they were in the shape of rectangles and triangles. By the year 2009, Swansea City AFC used rectangular flags which meant that they hadn't ever won which competition?

Answer: FA Cup

Unfortunately for Swansea City, they had never managed to win the FA Cup and thus they kept a rectangular shaped flag. If they had won the prestigious competition, which invites teams from all English leagues to compete, they would be entitled to use triangular perimeter flags.

This quirky little fact was mentioned in a comical film based in a Swansea City stronghold called 'Twin Town'.

9. Which former Liverpool FC great, from mainland Europe, played both for Swansea City AFC and managed the team in the mid-1990s (He is well known for being an efficient penalty taker)?

Answer: Jan Molby

Danish born Jan Molby was a player-manager of Swansea City AFC from 1996 to 1997 before giving up the managerial position. However, he continued playing for the club for another season. Before joining Swansea City, Jan Molby was a well known Liverpool FC player and was remarkably accurate and successful from the penalty spot, missing just three penalties in his 12-year career with the club.

10. In 2009, Swansea City AFC accepted a bid from Wigan Athletic which would make it a record fee for a player at the football club. Which player was Wigan Athletic bidding for?

Answer: Jason Scotland

Jason Scotland was a prolific striker during his two years at Swansea City, scoring 45 league goals in 90 league appearances. Scotland scored over 50 goals in all competitions which meant that the price offered by Wigan would have to be high. The offer was risky however as Scotland, from Trinidad, hadn't experienced playing at Premier League level and was already over 30 years old.

After 14 league appearances for Wigan, nicknamed the Latics, Jason Scotland had not scored a goal.

Source: Author jonnowales

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

In an effort to make sure that all British football clubs have a quiz made about them, here is my contribution: Swansea City AFC. Enjoy!

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