ABERYSTWYTH Town Football Club will not be able to host a Euro 2016 ‘Fanzone’ this summer because it will coincide with the development of a new 3G pitch.

Following the success of the Cardiff Arms Park Fanzone — an area which allows hundreds of fans to watch a sports match together on a big screen — at last year’s Rugby World Cup, there have been calls for more to be established across Wales this summer for people to support the national football team during Euro 2016, Wales’ first major tournament since 1958.

Elin Jones AM, echoing the calls of her Plaid Cymru colleague Bethan Jenkins AM, said there was no better place for a fanzone in mid Wales than Aberystwyth.

“I support the idea warmly,” said Ms Jones.

“Where would be better for a fanzone in mid Wales than Aberystwyth, whose team has been a proud part of the Welsh Premier League since its foundation and is consistently one of the best-supported clubs in the league.

“It’s so many years since the Wales football team qualified for a major tournament, it seems fitting that we should do everything we can to help make the most of the success of Chris Coleman’s team.

“Fanzones during the Rugby World Cup were a popular innovation, and it could be great for football fans in Aberystwyth and the surrounding area to have somewhere to watch Wales’s games and sample the big-occasion atmosphere.

“Not everyone will be able to make it out to France, and tickets are going to be hard to come by.

“I’m sure many people would welcome the chance to gather in a dedicated ‘fanzone’ in Aberystwyth to cheer the Wales team.”

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