Local football history captured 30 years later in new book

A book that has captured the memorable moment that Llansantffraid became the football princes of Wales has been written by an Italian journalist.

Marco Parmigiani has penned The Village that went to Europe: Llansantffraid FC, the 1996 Welsh Cup and the Journey to Chorzów which tells the story of Llansantffraid’s extraordinary 1995-96 season when they won the Welsh Cup in a dramatic final against Barry Town before venturing to Poland for their first European adventure.

It is a story about lower-league football, village life, pubs, old newspapers, part-time players, supporters on the road, borrowed grounds, impossible journeys and the strange way football can make a small place feel enormous for a while.

Told through a narrative voice inspired by the ordinary supporter, and reconstructed from newspaper archives, match reports, video footage and personal testimony, the book looks back at the Llansantffraid that existed before the later transformations, sponsorships and name changes.

From the village’s Recreation Ground to the National Stadium in Cardiff, from Wrexham to Chorzów, this is the story of a club that briefly stepped into a world much bigger than itself.

“Although I’m from Italy, I spent months researching the club’s history through newspapers, programmes, interviews and historical sources because I felt this incredible story deserved to be shared with a wider audience,” Marco told us.

You can grab a copy of the book through: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0H86DDBNQ