When Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over Wrexham AFC, they held a press conference in the middle of the stands, and then went out to speak to the fans on the pitch. We provided the audio for that moment. The cameras and the broadcast were other people’s job. The sound of the new owners addressing the club for the first time was ours.
That is the visible end of matchday AV management in Wales, the bit that makes the news. But most of what matchday AV management involves happens every other week, with no cameras around, and it is worth understanding what actually goes into it.
Matchday AV is live event production, every week
A football matchday is a live event with a fixed kick-off and no second take. The crowd arrives, the announcements have to land, the music has to hit at the right moment, and the safety messages have to be heard by everyone, clearly, no matter what else is going on.
Our relationship with Wrexham AFC goes back a long way, and it predates PSL itself. Years ago, when the stadium had been under-invested in, I was looking after its audio infrastructure. For a long time after that, we carried out the annual audio safety checks on the ground, making sure the system was safe to use.
After the takeover, everything accelerated. We were brought in for the early events: the press conferences, the talks on the pitch, and the international fixtures, where we work alongside the AV company brought in by the visiting football association. Today we provide technical support at every home match.
What we run on a matchday
The kit list for a matchday is smaller than people expect, because the skill is not in the amount of equipment, it is in how reliably it all works together.
At the heart of it is an Allen & Heath SQ mixer. The announcer uses a JTS UF-20 wireless microphone. Music and walkout tracks run from a MacBook using QLab, which is show-control software that fires the right track at the right moment with no fumbling for a play button. The scoreboard feed comes into the same desk, so anything playing on the screen is part of the same mix.
None of that is exotic. What makes it work is that it has been specified to do one job extremely well, week in and week out.
The clever bit: ducking
Here is the detail that separates a polished matchday from a messy one. Both the announcer’s microphone and the scoreboard feed automatically duck the music.
Ducking means that the moment the announcer speaks, or the scoreboard plays an advert or a clip, the music drops underneath it on its own. No one has to reach for a fader. When the announcement finishes, the music comes back up. It happens automatically, every time.
It sounds small, but it is the difference between a stadium that sounds professional and one where the announcer is fighting the music for the crowd’s attention. When ducking is set up properly, the audience never notices it, which is exactly the point.
The same principle covers the most important audio of all: safety announcements. They have to cut through instantly and clearly, with no manual intervention required, and the system is built so they always do.
It takes a person who knows the ground
Equipment does not run a matchday. People do. Cerys is PSL’s technical lead on most matchday operations, and she knows that ground and that routine inside out.
That familiarity matters more than any single piece of kit. Someone who knows where every cable runs, what the announcer needs, and how the day flows will keep a matchday running smoothly in a way that no spec sheet can capture.
From safety checks to a UEFA tournament
The work has grown a long way from those early audio safety checks. For one season we ran the full fanzone at the Racecourse: a stage in the corner of a marquee, a full PA, moving head lights, a flown lighting truss, an LED video wall for content, and an automatic ducking system for safety announcements so nothing was ever left to chance. The fanzone paused when the new stand began construction, and I hope they bring it back.
We have also provided AV for the club’s conferences and town hall meetings, the smaller-set, projector-and-audio end of the work. And in summer 2026, we are the AV supplier at the Racecourse Stadium for the UEFA Under-19 European Championship finals matches being held in Wales.
Looking back at where the relationship started, the simplest way I can put it is this: we’ve grown together.
If you run a club or a venue and you are thinking about your own special events and sports production, the same principles apply at every level. For more on the atmosphere side specifically, see our piece on sports presentation AV.
Frequently asked questions
What does matchday AV management involve?
The stadium PA, the announcer’s microphone, walkout and goal music, and the audio feed from the scoreboard, all mixed live so announcements, adverts, and music never fight each other. It also includes the safety announcement system, which must be clear and reliable at all times.
What is audio ducking on a matchday?
Ducking automatically lowers the music when the announcer speaks or when the scoreboard plays a clip. We set both the wireless mic and the scoreboard feed to duck the music with no manual intervention.
What equipment runs a football club matchday?
Our setup uses an Allen & Heath SQ mixer, a JTS UF-20 wireless announcer microphone, and a MacBook running QLab for music and walkout tracks, with the scoreboard feed routed in and automatic ducking across the whole system.
Do you provide AV for sports events across Wales?
Yes. We provide matchday AV, sports presentation, and event production for clubs and stadia across Wales and the wider UK.
Running a club or stadium in Wales?
Whether you need matchday support, a ground PA that actually works, or production for a one-off fixture, we have done it at the highest level a club in Wales can ask for. Get in touch and we will talk through what your matchday needs.
Darren Hughes is Director of Pivotal Sound & Lighting, an AV and event production company based in Llay, Wrexham, North Wales. PSL provides matchday AV, sports presentation, and event production for clubs and venues across Wales and the UK, including ongoing technical support at Wrexham AFC’s Racecourse Stadium.