CARDIFF City supremo Sam Hamman has said that his plans to take the Bluebirds to the top will have knock-on benefits for Newport and the whole of Wales.

The installation of a new £1 million-per-year academy for rearing young talent will help the other Welsh clubs, including Newport County, according to the outspoken owner.

Hamman said: "We will be trying to serve all of our brothers in Newport, Swansea and Wrexham, because we will be training hundreds of people who will benefit the Welsh League and the whole of Wales.

"When we get stronger and stronger we will help them."

Hamman believes that he can turn his Cardiff side into not just a premiership club, but also the main focus of Welsh football.

He said: "Cardiff is not a football club, it is a Welsh institution. I still have a passion to make it something for the whole of Wales to be proud of."

And Hamman insists that to do this, keeping his Welsh talent, especially Robert Earnshaw and Danny Gabbidon, is paramount.

He said: "These players will have to realise that they are fighting for the Welsh nation in a war, a gentleman's football war, but still a war.

"They are our footsoldiers, our officers - they will do their duty for the cause."

Hamman insisted that plans are under way for the new £100 million stadium, and the building contracts are currently out to tender and he refuted claims that Cardiff are heavily in debt.

He claimed that he was involved in football because of his love of the game, rather than wanting to make money out of the venture.

He said: "I did not come here to make money. I am not a businessman, this is a passion for me. This is a labour of love. That's why you don't sulk at things - you fight."

Newport County chairman Wallace Brown was not quite as enthusiastic as Hamman.

He said: "Obviously, to have a Welsh club at the top level would be a boost to the whole country.

"But from a Newport point of view, we already have youth academy producing the best talent available for Newport County, so I can't see how Cardiff having an academy will benefit us.

"And as for the whole of Wales supporting Cardiff, I don't think that supporters will abandon the historical links with their football clubs and go and support Cardiff."