Cardiff who to be good’

mented upon not just how professional we were, but also how hospitable.

“We made really good friends with Uefa staff. When you work on a major project like this it’s easy to fall out over a range of issues.

“Far from it – we were open and honest and ready to ask for help when necessary. There were no difficult discussions. There were a lot of plaudits coming our way afterwards from Uefa but, to be honest, I don’t think there’s been an event held in Wales that has not been a success.

“We take a lot of punches beforehand, people criticising and questioning our right to host the game, yet we keep on quietly delivering. Perhaps we don’t brag about it as others might or push ourselves enough. I guess we’re just a humble nation.”

“I was at the San Siro final last year and that was loud for the Madrid derby, but this was on another level again.

“I guess Cardiff will always be remembered as the European Cup final where the roof was shut for the first time.

“Everyone was commenting about what a phenomenal atmosphere that created but, I have to be honest, and say the decision was made for security reasons rather than atmospheric ones.

“We didn’t want anyone having any sort of opportunity to fly a drone. Not necessarily because it would be dangerous, but if someone had put a drone up to film the game we wouldn’t have known what that was for and that could have caused some panic.

“Closing the roof gave us the option of eliminating a security risk completely. In so doing it also created that wonderful atmosphere.” “We provided the players with a great environment and there were no complaints from either team on the night.

“Since they returned to Italy, Juventus sent us a lovely note telling us they will always have a fond memory of Cardiff – this despite the disappointment of losing the final.

“They still took the time and trouble to write to us to say how happy they were with the organising committee and the way they were treated by everyone here.

“Real Madrid also sent one saying Cardiff will always be remembered for the right reasons by the club. This was the venue where they created history with back-to-back Champions League titles, whilst they also won the Super Cup in the city previously.

“When you have the biggest clubs in the world talking about Cardiff in those terms it should give a warm feeling to a whole nation and make us proud.

“We always said we wanted to go the extra mile for the teams but this was a lovely response nonetheless.

“One of our pep talks to the staff was that whilst this would be hard work they should enjoy it and think of the positives they could give to the fans and the city.

“As we look back we can ask: ‘Was it a success?’ Yes. ‘Has it changed the perception of Wales, Cardiff, Welsh football and the FAW?’ Yes.” “Everyone thought this was a one-off but the FAW could definitely bid for it again, from 2020 onwards if we wished.

“The FAW couldn’t do it in isolation. We don’t own the stadium – it would require investment again from the Welsh Government and Cardiff council.

“But the benefits are enormous in terms of money coming back into the local economy.

“As for 200m people across the world tuning in to see the stadium, roads and city of Cardiff, well what marketing and publicity would you place on that? It’s unquantifiable.

“People suddenly know about Cardiff who didn’t a week ago. That has to be good for future tourism.

“If Madrid, Berlin, London and other big tourist destinations think these events are worth having more than once, why wouldn’t Cardiff?” “There have been reports about the Eurostadion in Brussels not being built and whether Cardiff could step in as one of the 13 venues.

“I was involved in our bid for the tournament previously. Nineteen cities pitched, four dropped out, 13 were chosen and two missed out. We were 14th and missed out by a single point, Stockholm was 15th. We had the Champions League final, they had the Europa