Innovative Haverfordwest aim to reach 'next level'

Rob Edwards pictured at Haverfordwest's Bridge Meadow

"I was sat in my flat in London and it popped up randomly on an e-mail."

Rob Edwards, with a background in finance, was scrolling through his inbox when one business opportunity intrigued him.

"I would never normally open those kind of emails," Edwards admits.

"I looked through and I don't know what led me to press the inquire button."

It was the opportunity to buy a club in Welsh football's second tier, semi-professional Haverfordwest County.

"It was probably one of those things where you're not sure you'd get that opportunity again," Edwards said.

"I just kind of thought that if an opportunity is too good to turn down, just take it and then you'll learn how to do it later.

"And yes, I've learned a hell of a lot over the last five and a half years how to have a business in sport."

That was in early 2020 a few weeks before the first Covid-19 pandemic lockdown – by the end of that year's summer Rob Edwards had become chairman of Haverfordwest County.

Since then Haverfordwest have enjoyed a remarkable rise.

Established in the top-tier Cymru Premier, they have qualified for the Europa Conference League twice in three seasons and their academy side has also played in Europe.

The Bluebirds have also built up a reputation as Welsh domestic football's most progressive clubs - current Club Brugge head coach Nicky Hayen had a spell in charge during the 2021-22 season.

But with the Cymru Premier set for a revamp next season - with an increase from 12 to 16 teams - Edwards has recognised the need for further investment or a full takeover if the club is to remain competitive and challenging for Europe.

"It's not a desire to want to step away," Edwards told BBC Sport Wales.

"We've put so much into the last five and a half years and we're really proud of where the club's gone.

"But I foresee challenges that unfortunately I don't have the resource to implement that by myself.

"So the idea is to be open about that as we have done publicly that I need help to take us to the next level.

"If that's an individual or a group of people that feel they want to take it and run with it, then I'll happily step away in the best interests of the club.

"But if I come across one or two people that want to partner with me and we work together and take it to the next level, then I'd love to do that."

The Welcome to Haverfordwest advert featuring Jack Wilson outside OId Trafford in Manchester in 2022

Haverfordwest have reached another level since Edwards arrived at the club, and not just on the pitch where they have consolidated their Cymru Premier position.

Off the pitch they have also made an impression.

There was an in-house Wrexham-style behind the scenes documentary and a 'Welcome to Haverfordwest' mobile billboard in the style of the famous Carlos Tevez Welcome to Manchester advert.

"We drove a Welcome to Haverfordwest-Tevez style advert around Manchester for about eight hours," Edwards recalls of the promo, which featured then County winger Jack Wilson in place of the Argentina star.

"That was personally a bit of fun.

"It was at the time when there was a cost of going to watch football and the cost of the Premier League and the Super League fallout.

"We just thought it'd be a great idea just to raise some eyebrows and create some interest in a club that is looking to put fans first.

"There was probably some very confused people, but it got the required message. I think we've been able to engage with fans and community really well.

"No disrespect to other Welsh clubs, but I think we're at the top of our game when it comes to that."

Although he had no prior experience of running a football club, Edwards took inspiration from the club he has supported since childhood, Leyton Orient.

"I think they're a very, very good family club," Edwards added.

"They're an award award-winning community club so I took a lot of what they do and try to translate that.

"Watching them growing up as a kid, we'd lucky if we'd get 3-4,000 people there.

"Now we're at capacity pretty much every week so you can't really knock what they've done."

Goalkeeper Zak Jones leads the celebrations after Haverfordwest's Europa Conference League win over Shkendija in 2023

Haverfordwest have been innovative in improving and enhancing the matchday experience at Bridge Meadow, which in turn has brought the community together.

The ground attracted the highest attendance of the the 2024-25 Cymru Premier season when more than 1,400 watched the New Year's Day game against Aberystwyth.

"I think there's so many people moving away from bigger clubs because, as I said from a cost perspective, but also whether they feel valued and and part of something," Edwards said.

"I think what clubs like Haverfordwest can give is an overall experience.

"We're trying to add an experiential element to a football match rather than just go in there to watch the game.

"Obviously everyone wants to see your team get three points - that's why we do it in the first place.

"But if you can create an atmosphere around it that just wants people to keep coming back then you're on to a winner.

Haverfordwest fans greet the alpacas during a Cymru Premier game at Bridge Meadow

"We try and create a bit of a festival atmosphere on a match day - we have street food, we've had alpacas.

"There's a local llama farm, so we just decided it'd be a good idea to bring them to a game for a bit of a meet and greet - there were kids having pictures taken with them.

"There were so many people in Haverfordwest that didn't realise there was a llama farm locally, so hopefully it benefited them as well.

"Every football club - every sports club - should be a community asset.

"There'll be owners that come and go, there'll be people like players that come and go.

"But ultimately it's my opinion that a football club or a sports club should be part of the community."