Footballers born in Swansea have won more Wales caps than any other birthplace
Swansea is the most successful birthplace of Wales footballers. That’s according to new research conducted by Barratt Homes ahead of the opening game of the FIFA World Cup on November 20th.
Research conducted by Barratt Homes has analysed the birthplace of over 3,000 footballers who have played for the home nations, to reveal which cities and towns are the leading hotspots for Wales footballers.
Swansea has been revealed as one of the most prominent places for producing footballers who have gone on to be capped by the Welsh national team. The 47 Wales internationals who were born in Swansea have won 942 caps for the national team, the highest total for any town or city.
Players born in Swansea have won the most Wales caps
| Birthplace | Total Number of Wales Caps | |
| 1 | Swansea | 942 |
| 2 | Cardiff | 866 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 468 |
| 4 | Newport | 349 |
| 5 | Neath | 307 |
| 6 | Llandudno | 190 |
| 7 | Bangor | 188 |
| 8 | St Asaph | 183 |
| 9 | Chirk | 171 |
| 10 | Merthyr Tydfil | 169 |
| Birthplaces were categorised into towns/cities, boroughs/districts, counties, and regions to provide like-for-like comparisons based on the size of each birthplace. | ||
Although both Wrexham and Cardiff can claim to be the birthplace of more Wales internationals, the 47 players born in Swansea have been capped by the national team a total of 942 times, an unmatched total by any other town or city.
The most capped player from Swansea is Dean Saunders with 75. Ivor Allchurch (68), Andy Melville (65), Cliff Jones (59), Leighton James (54) and John Hartson (51) have all won 50+ caps for the Welsh national team. Chris Coleman who won 32 caps and famously led Wales to the semi-finals of the 2016 European Championships was also born in Swansea.
The 47 players born in Swansea are:
- Dean Saunders – 75 caps
- Ivor Allchurch – 68 caps
- Andy Melville – 65 caps
- Cliff Jones – 59 caps
- Leighton James – 54 caps
- John Hartson – 51 caps
- Robbie James – 47 caps
- Jack Kelsey – 41 caps
- John Charles – 38 caps
- Trevor Ford – 38 caps
- Gary Sprake – 37 caps
- Chris Coleman – 32 caps
- Mel Charles – 31 caps
- Barrie Hole – 30 caps
- Terry Medwin – 30 caps
- Joe Rodon – 30 caps
- Ray Daniel – 21 caps
- Jeremy Charles – 19 caps
- Jeff Hopkins – 16 caps
- Barrie Jones – 15 caps
- Adam Matthews – 14 caps
- Richard Duffy – 13 caps
- Jazz Richards – 13 caps
- Mel Nurse – 12 caps
- Len Allchurch – 11 caps
- John Morgan – 10 caps
- Billy Hole – 9 caps
- Pat Glover – 7 caps
- Chris Marustik – 6 caps
- Steve Lovell – 6 caps
- Bill Harris – 6 caps
- Wilf Lewis – 6 caps
- Mark Harris – 5 caps
- Shaun MacDonald – 4 caps
- Nigel Stevenson – 4 caps
- Ernie Jones – 4 caps
- Herbie Williams – 3 caps
- Des Palmer – 3 caps
- Dudley Lewis – 1 cap
- Cyril Davies – 1 cap
- Roy Evans – 1 cap
- Michael Johnson – 1 cap
- Vic Rouse – 1 cap
- Harry Griffiths – 1 cap
- Jack Parry – 1 cap
- Jackie Roberts – 1 cap
- Harry Thomas – 1 cap
Swansea has produced the third highest number of Wales footballers
| Birthplace | Players To Play for Wales | |
| =1 | Wrexham | 49 |
| =1 | Cardiff | 49 |
| 3 | Swansea | 47 |
| 4 | Merthyr Tydfil | 16 |
| 5 | Newport | 15 |
| 6 | Chirk | 13 |
| 7 | Neath | 11 |
| =8 | Bangor | 10 |
| =8 | Llandudno | 10 |
| =8 | Oswestry | 10 |
| Birthplaces were categorised into towns/cities, boroughs/districts, counties, and regions to provide like-for-like comparisons based on the size of each birthplace. | ||
47 players born in Swansea have been capped by the Welsh national team. This is the third highest total for any town or city, behind only Wrexham and Cardiff (both 49).
Despite 2022 being only Wales’ second appearance at a World Cup, 19% of the 47 players born in Swansea have represented Wales on the biggest stage, with Joe Rodon and Mark Harris set to become the eighth and ninth this year.
West Glamorgan is the county that has produced the second most players capped by Wales
| County | Players To Play for Wales | County | Total Number of Wales Caps | |||
| 1 | Clwyd | 151 | 1 | Clwyd | 1905 | |
| 2 | West Glamorgan | 60 | 2 | West Glamorgan | 1328 | |
| 3 | South Glamorgan | 52 | 3 | South Glamorgan | 901 | |
| 4 | Mid Glamorgan | 47 | 4 | Gwent | 568 | |
| 5 | Gwent | 38 | 5 | Mid Glamorgan | 505 | |
| 6 | Powys | 30 | 6 | Powys | 288 | |
| 7 | Gwynedd | 23 | 7 | Gwynedd | 271 | |
| 7 | Shropshire | 23 | 8 | Dyfed | 256 | |
| 9 | Dyfed | 16 | 9 | Shropshire | 177 | |
| 9 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | 16 | 10 | Devon | 149 | |
| Birthplaces were categorised into towns/cities, boroughs/districts, counties, and regions to provide like-for-like comparisons based on the size of each birthplace. | ||||||
60 footballers born in West Glamorgan have gone on to have the honour of playing for the Wales national team, more than any other county besides Clwyd.
Those 60 players have won 1,328 caps for the national team, also the second highest figure for a county.
More information about the research can be found at https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/sporting-hotspots