I must say I’m personally very excited about the Champions League final coming to Cardiff. I was kicking an official Cardiff 2017 replica football around the garden with a very excited 13-year-old last night. And as happy as I was to contribute £14.99 to the merchandising companies for that particular ball, we want to make sure that Wales is the real beneficiary here. We are talking about one of the biggest sporting events in the world. I’ll never forget watching the last-minute Manchester United win over Bayern Munich in 1999 or Liverpool’s miracle in 2005 in beating AC Milan, but it’s not just those stories that could be repeated here in Wales in a few weeks’ time—those footballing stories—I remember where those games were, and Man United winning in Barcelona, and Liverpool winning in Istanbul. So, Cardiff could become a part of international sporting folklore.

I was talking to some children in Italy a few weeks ago, asking where I was from—‘From Wales. Do you know where Wales is?’ ‘That’s where the Champions League final is being held in a few weeks’ time’, showing the power of the language of football globally. They were also very aware of Wales as the home of Gareth Bale, of course. And may I say how wonderful it would be to see a fit Gareth Bale playing at a Champions League final in his home city? But, in the interests of keeping balance, I’d like to say that, of course, fans from whichever side of Madrid would be more than welcome in Cardiff here for the final. I believe the first leg is being played tonight, of that semifinal, with the decider known to us by a week Wednesday.

Now, I would like to wish all those involved in putting on this Champions League final all the very best in the final few weeks. In particular, I’d like to mention the Football Association of Wales, running the show. And this is a football association that has proved during the Euros, and the run-up to the Euros, last year, how very able they are to capitalise on international sporting exposure.

Just three questions. You mentioned the community facility that will be left as a legacy in Grangetown in Cardiff, the 3G pitch there. The local council has guaranteed that the pitch will be free to use for two years. Beyond that, charges haven’t been ruled out. But frankly, of course, if we’re going to see a real legacy from this, we need free-to-use sports facilities for a lot longer than two years. So, what are you going to be doing to ensure that there is a longer legacy than just the two years use of a modest, but very important, facility to that community, particularly in light of the recently increased charges that we have seen for sports facilities right across Wales?

Secondly, first impressions will be very, very important. We’ll be seeing a lot of visitors to Cardiff. What extra support has been offered to Cardiff council to ensure that litter is picked, that we have a clean, modern city, to await all those football fans?

Finally, the statement notes that Cardiff is the smallest city to have hosted this event. In reality, though, of course, if we take in the wider hinterland—the south Wales Valleys, of course, and the major population there—it probably isn’t the smallest area. But, clearly, to hold events such as this in Cardiff requires infrastructure to be wider than just the city itself—it needs to include the Valleys, strengthening transport infrastructure over a wider area. So, what consideration have you given to making this event benefit the wider surrounding areas, and, with that boost to infrastructure required, not just for this Champions League—we have limited things we can do in the next few weeks—but for the longer term, to support Wales being able to be a player on the global stage for similar events in future?