Swansea City FC's amazing first season in the Premier League was worth a staggering £58m to the local economy, an in-depth study has revealed.
An estimated 400 jobs - 340 of them in Swansea - were created or protected according to a study commissioned to look at the economic impact of Premier League status on the city and Wales.
The news comes as hundreds of millions of fans around the world prepare to watch high-flying Swans take on Arsenal in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Welsh Government Business Minister Edwina Hart said: "I welcome the results of this latest economic impact study, which tracks the local economic benefits of the thousands of football fans who attended Premier League matches at the Liberty Stadium last season.
"Swansea City FC's promotion and success in the Premier League has also exposed Wales to a worldwide television audience and provided the Welsh Government with rich opportunities to promote our economic development and tourism messages, not just for the Swansea region, but for Wales.
"As a result, an audience of millions has been introduced to key messages about Wales that challenge perceptions and support our economic development campaigns. "
Cllr Nick Bradley, Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: "The Swans' Premier League adventure has been an incredible success story for the club, for Wales and for Swansea.
"The value of the Swans success to the local economy is even greater than Chelsea's widely-reported prize money for winning the Champions League this year.
"That's an incredible achievement. I want to pay tribute to the joint effort between the Welsh Government, Swansea Council, their partners and, of course, the Swans for making sure the economic benefits have been felt alongside the tremendous feel-good factor that's been generated right across the city."
Cllr Bradley said that the Swans' success story, along with the success of the Ospreys, the Wales National Pool Swansea's medal haul at the Paralympic games and the tens of thousands who turned out for the Olympic Torch relay had made 2012 a golden year for the city.
He said: "It has been a fantastic year for sport in our city and it's the perfect springboard for 2013 when the Council will be investing more in promoting Swansea as a city of sport."
The report says that while the majority of the economic value was created directly by the football club, most of the jobs created and safeguarded were from non-footballing activity.
The most significant element of this was the spending power of visiting fans who visited pubs, clubs and restaurants and stayed in hotels as a direct result of attending games at the Liberty Stadium.
Cllr Bradley said: "This economic impact assessment has proved that the investment by the Welsh Government and Swansea Council in targeting visiting fans to encourage them to come and enjoy what Wales and Swansea has to offer has paid off.
"We believe it is continuing to pay off this season too with many thousands of fans continuing to enjoy the warmth of the Welsh welcome in Swansea."
Some of the key impacts estimated in the report by the Welsh Economy Research Unit of Cardiff University include:
* The total economic value to Wales of the Swans' first season in the Premier League was an estimated £58.6m
* £50.6m of the economic benefit was generated by Swansea City FC, safeguarding or creating an estimated 125 jobs.
* The economic impact on the city of Swansea was an estimated £55.3m.
* The non-football club activity generated around £7.9m of economic impact, creating or safeguarding an estimated 295 jobs, most of them in Swansea.