Latest news with #SwanseaCity
Powys County Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Snoop Dogg and his link to Powys music venue Chapel
Following on from the announcement earlier this month that Snoop Dogg had become a co-owner and investor in Welsh football club Swansea City, a Powys music venue has teased the possibility of the legendary US rapper one day performing here. It has been revealed that Llanwrtyd Wells venue Chapel, formerly the Bethesda Methodist Chapel, is partly owned by Snoop. The building was bought at auction in 2019 by local lad and tech entrepreneur Irfon Watkins and friend Ian Matthews, drummer in rock band Kasabian. After Snoop's Swans takeover announcement, the Chapel posted on its Facebook page on Friday (July 25): 'Bet you didn't know that Swansea City co-owner Snoop Dogg owns a bit of our Chapel… Snoop unplugged at Chapel.' In November 2021, it was revealed that Snoop had become one of the latest members to join leading crypto venture capital firm Outlier Ventures. Outlier Ventures dubbed Snoop and other new members 'outliers', who invest in, advise and collaborate with startups. Irfon revealed that Outlier Ventures is one of the investors in Chapel, which he and Ian have been transforming into an arts venue. Earlier this month, Irfon announced that Chapel will be hosting a brand-new music event, called BogFest, held alongside the quirky and popular World Bog Snorkelling Championships, in Llanwrtyd, in August. Chapel is the main sponsor of this year's World Bog Snorkelling Championships, which is taking place on Sunday, August 24. The music festival takes place over the weekend of August 23-24. As for revealing any details of a possible appearance in the future from Snoop, Irfon said: 'Well that would be something we need to work on, when he next visits the Swans.' Chapel's mission is to create a unique experience where established and upcoming artists can perform live to both an intimate local audience and a worldwide audience through innovative technologies. 'Ian Matthews and I bought the chapel with a vision to put it at the centre of our community for the next 100 years,' Irfon said previously. 'We asked the question 'what does a music/arts venue look like 100 years from now?'. Our view is that it will exist and function in the physical and digital world (metaverse). 'So, we then decided to acquire an online platform for musicians and start creating metaverse gigs while chapel was being rebuilt. 'The head office of this business will be based in the vestry of the chapel. 'We expect to host gigs there on a monthly basis initially, with our business model being both online and real life. 'Our business model in the village is additive; we want to bring visitors that spend money in the existing local businesses.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Lloyd signs Swans deal and joins Newport on loan
Ben Lloyd has joined Newport County on loan until January and agreed a one-year extension to his Swansea City midfielder Lloyd's previous Swansea deal was due to expire at the end of the 2025-26 season, but he is now tied to the Championship club until the summer of product Lloyd, 20, has signed for Newport having already spent time training with David Hughes' squad."He'll bring us good balance in midfield. He's versatile so he can play further forward and in the pockets," said Exiles manager Hughes. Swansea hope Lloyd will get the chance to play regular first-team football with the League Two also had a stint training at Cheltenham Town this summer. "It's a great feeling to get the deal over the line," said Lloyd, who joined Swansea as a 12-year-old."Ever since I've arrived, everything has been so positive with the gaffer and the boys. I feel like I've settled in really quickly and I can't wait for the season to start."The Wales Under-21 international made his senior debut as a late substitute in Swansea's win over Queens Park Rangers last December and also came off the bench as Alan Sheehan's side drew with Oxford United on the final day of last season."Ben is a talented young player who enjoyed an excellent 2024-25 campaign," said Swansea director of football Richard Montague. "We believe the chance to gain further EFL experience will be of great benefit to his development, as it was for Cameron Congreve and Joel Cotterill last season."
BBC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Swans narrowly beaten at Exeter
Swansea City were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Exeter City in the penultimate fixture of their pre-season Congreve had an early goal ruled out for offside at St James hosts went ahead two minutes after the restart as Ilmari Niskanen charged up the left flank before crossing to Sonny Cox who netted the game's only signing Cameron Burgess headed home from a corner soon after, although his effort was disallowed for a foul in the Vipotnik looked to have earned Swansea a draw as he rifled an effort in off the crossbar late on, although the frustration continued as it was ruled out for offside to ensure the visitors were beaten by the League One Sheehan's side round of their summer schedule against Ligue 2 side Lorient at the Stadium on Saturday, 2 August (15:00 BST).The Swans open up their 2025-26 Championship campaign against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium a week later.
Irish Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bad news for Heimir Hallgrimsson after fitness update is issued on Ireland star
Ireland star Finn Azaz has emerged as a major doubt ahead of the start of the new Championship campaign. The Middlesbrough attacker is suffering from a quad injury and is currently considered unlikely to make his side's opener against Swansea City next month. Azaz has quickly become a key member of Heimir Hallgrímsson's side, thanks to his impressive displays, most notably in the Nations League play-off against Bulgaria in March. The seven-time capped attacking midfielder scored his first senior international goal in the 2-1 first-leg win in Plovdiv. Hallgrímsson will be hoping for a speedy recovery, ahead of the September World Cup qualification kick-off. Ireland are in action at home to Hungary and away to Armenia on September 6 and 9 respectively. In October, they are away to Portugal and home to Armenia, before the short campaign ends with a home clash against Portugal and a trip to Hungary in November. Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards revealed the news about the injuries to Azaz and George Edmundson on Friday. He said: 'George was a really disappointing one. It was the very first day when he felt his calf. Day one. He'll be a couple more weeks, I would have thought at the moment. 'Finn had a tightness in his quad. It was scanned, and he's probably going to be around three weeks as well. That's where he's at. 'It's really frustrating because he was looking brilliant in the early days – really motivated and looking really good. 'He's a naturally fit boy, so we're hoping that we get him back quickly and he doesn't require too much getting up to speed.' According to Edwards, his desire to see Boro play higher up the pitch has led to some tougher training sessions, increasing the risk of injury. 'From day one, my message has been about intensity, being a bit more aggressive and trying to take the game a bit higher up the pitch,' he said. 'It's hard to say that then not go into training and really do that with the boys. So, I think there would have been a little bit of a lift in the training intensity. 'There's always a slight risk, but I think we have to be pushing the lads.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Kieron Bowie is primed to be Scotland's No.9 heir apparent
It was an agreeable start to what could be a pivotal campaign in the 22-year-old's young career. Because, if things go well, we may not just be looking at a future Hibernian poster boy – and potentially someone they could sell on for a decent chunk of money – but a potential long-term answer for Scotland at the No.9 role. With Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams coming into the latter stages of their career, and their availability and productivity for the national team having already dropped off over the last year or so, manager Steve Clarke has tried out a few younger options at the point of attack in recent international breaks. Tommy Conway and George Hirst from down south have each been given chances, while James Wilson at Hearts was made Scotland's youngest international of the modern era earlier this year. Then there's also Bowie, who was given his first cap as a substitute against Liechtenstein in June. With Bobby Wales, once of Kilmarnock and now at Swansea City, also emerging as an exciting young talent, we could soon be entering a bright future at what's long been a problem position for the national team. You may indeed be wondering why this writer has singled out Bowie as Scotland's heir apparent in attack. Wilson and Wales, for instance, contributed about the same to the William Hill Premiership last season and are both younger, which therefore means they are perceived to have greater potential. And you don't have to look far into Bowie's past for reasons as to why it may seem foolish to bank on him becoming a Scotland hero: 14 goals in 85 games for Northampton hardly gets the pulses racing, after all. But unless a Scottish striker goes to the very top and becomes the type of world-class attacking talent that can put a modest team on their back, it would likely come down to who suits the system the best. And unless things change dramatically for the better in what's already been an accomplished period for the international team across recent decades, Scotland's place in the food chain demands a certain type of player to lead the line. The No.9 for most of the Steve Clarke era has been Lyndon Dykes – who himself has both a modest pedigree and record in front of goal. There's no doubt the Aussie-turned-Jock has his detractors within the Tartan Army support. He's not the most technically proficient of players, while his decision-making can also be erratic. He has matches where everything he touches turns to dust. But he's also had many big moments in a Scotland shirt and turned in performances where he's enabled the rest of the attack to function better around him. You can argue causation and correlation, but Scotland's fortunes undeniably improved once Dykes switched allegiances from his homeland. He gave the team a focal point up front that Clarke had failed to find in Oli McBurnie, Oli Burke, Callum Paterson or the dying embers of Leigh Griffiths' prime years. Dykes contributes not only by scoring a higher rate for Scotland than he has at club level, but by putting in a power of work. He's a willing runner and fighter and his huge, athletic frame, which enables him to make life miserable for opposing defenders. It's the type of player in attack that Scotland have required for quite some time now. Even these days with Italian football darlings Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson among the ranks, our talent pool is still too shallow to try and go toe-to-toe with the best of world football. In order to continue dining at the high table we still need to play pragmatically. Bowie is the up-and-comer who most resembles Dykes' game. He's a huge presence in attack who doesn't need to be provoked to get into a 90-minute fight with his marker. He isn't quite as mobile as Dykes but he still gets around the final third. And, promisingly, early evidence would suggest a stronger eye for goal. Bowie netted six goals in 21 games for Hibs last term, but by doing so in only 871 minutes, he had a better goals-per-90 minutes than all but three Scottish Premiership strikers — they were Player of the Year Daizen Maeda, top goalscorer Cyriel Dessers and Celtic's human victory-cigar Adam Idah. In a campaign that, in many ways, never properly got going for the striker due to a hamstring injury which kept him out for months, there were many more promising numbers which stood out for Bowie. I compared his stats to 33 other Premiership centre-forwards from last term and he finished in the top three for percentage of shots on target and goal conversion, as well as touches inside the penalty area per 90 minutes. Demonstrating his willingness to battle, he also led all strikers in defensive actions, interceptions and fouls won (again, per 90). The advanced stats also show some clear indications for improvement if he is going to discover his potential. Though he won fouls at a higher rate than any other striker, it was offset by committing the most as well (3 conceded to 2.89 won per game). He also only won 18.18 per cent of his aerial duels (the fifth worst tally) and he ranked quite poorly for many of the passing accuracy metrics. The latter two will be key if he is to establish himself at a higher level. He needs to win more flick-ons for team-mates to run onto, while it's little use initially making the ball stick in attack if you're going to give it right back again. Returning to the positives, the game which stood out the most as an example of Bowie's ability to be a real force came in Hibs' 2-1 victory over Celtic at Easter Road in February. The youngster dominated both Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty in a first-half performance where the hosts scored twice without reply. He would tire badly in the second period and be replaced on the hour. And this is where we may have to pump the breaks a little in terms of expectations based on what we saw last year. Bowie largely made his corn coming off the bench and wasn't as effective when he started matches. But the player admitted himself that the hamstring injury robbed him of 90-minute fitness that he wouldn't be able to fully regain until pre-season. If he can reproduce what he did in 871 minutes across three/four times as much playing action this term then what could we be looking at? A player of the year nomination? A contender for the Premiership's golden boot? A regular place in the Scotland squad? None of that is implausible and that should be very exciting for both Hibs fans and Scotland supporters.
