Di Hughes writes:
Welcome back to the .Com stadium for this Carabao Cup game, the first competitive match of the 2026/27 season. And welcome to those Blues fans travelling from the Midlands. This is Birmingham’s ninth visit to the .Com and matches are usually close affairs, with five draws, one win for the Swans and two for the visitors. Today is the third visit to the .Com for referee Ruebyn Ricardo, twice as the main man and once as the 4th Official. His previous visit was in March 2026 when the Swans beat Stoke City 2-0. The Trust extends a warm welcome to South Wales to the Swans new signings:
- Stephen Welsh, 26-year-old defender from Celtic; former Scotland U21 international
- Moussa Yeo, 22-year-old versatile midfielder/forward signed from Red Bull Salzburg; former Malian U20 international
- Joseph Opoku, 20-year-old winger signed from Belgian club Zulte Waregem; he has one senior international cap for Ghana
- Elijah Just, 26-year-old defender from Motherwell, who recently featured in the World Cup for New Zealand, scoring 3 goals.
- Tiago Parente, a 20-year-old left back, on loan from Benfica; a current U21 caps Portuguese international.
- Ross Stewart, an experienced striker who has just signed on a free transfer from Southampton. We would also like to thank those who have departed the .Com this summer for their contributions to the Swans. Liam Cullen, Cam Congreve, Sam Parker and Ollie Cooper, amongst others have left either permanently or on loan. They may have left to pursue careers elsewhere but they will always be JBs. Good luck for the future to them and their families. Today is the start of the Trust’s 25th Anniversary season. We are planning a range of events to celebrate and more details will be made available to members over the coming months. We will be hosting another quiz evening, in aid of our partner charity, Faith in Families faithinfamilies.wales/news and running an online raffle, with proceeds going to our new partner charity, the Swansea Veterans Hub swanseaveteranshub.org.uk . More information on the history of the Trust, our current activities and heritage work and how to join us can be found here swanstrust.co.uk or by scanning the code at the top of this page. Supporters are also encouraged to visit our Trust kiosk on matchdays, which is located outside the West Stand. Our board members will be on hand to answer questions and provide you with a copy of the match day team sheet. Members are reminded that fees are now due for the new season and where possible please do this via our Join the Trust page on our website. However, you can also pay at the matchday kiosk next to the club shop before any of our home games. Enjoy the game and let’s hope we progress further in the competition that we won in 2013. YJBs, shout loud and proud for the boys
Di
