David Melding, Assembly Member for South Wales Central, has welcomed the ecstatic response from the UEFA President following last month’s Champions League Final.

The response from the UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin - which was written in a letter to the First Minister Carwyn Jones - praised the City of Cardiff for delivering an event that was “nothing short of excellence”.

Mr Melding said “It is fantastic that the World has seen what Cardiff has to offer.  Both the hosting of the Champions League Final, and the Welsh football team’s success in 2016 have put Wales on the map as a global sporting heavyweight”. The event’s success is a testament to the services that were provided by Cardiff’s local business’. I am sure that this will be the spark to advertise Wales as a leading candidate in future global events”.

The occasion put the eyes of the world on Wales as Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 at the Principality Stadium. Tens of thousands of football fans visited Cardiff for both the final and the four-day Champions Festival in Cardiff Bay.

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The full letter from the UEFA President to the First Minister:

“Dear Carwyn,

“Thank you for your letter of 8 June 2017. From my perspective, I must first say that the words ‘thank you’ feel perhaps a little light in return for the remarkable and professional series of football events that took place in Cardiff during the first week of June 2017!

“As you say in your letter, Cardiff is a small city, but it welcomed with open arms many thousands of football fans in an outstanding spirit of cooperation, protection and pure enjoyment.”

“Thank you, Carwyn, for all your support. There is no doubt that it was a lot of responsibility to shoulder and the city of Cardiff and all its service providers delivered nothing short of excellence.

Yours sincerely,

UEFA

Aleksander Ceferin

President”