Cymru Premier
The League of Wales (also known as the Vauxhall Masterfit Retailers Welsh Premier League for sponsorship reasons) is the national football league for Wales and is at the top of the Welsh football league system.
The league suffers from the fact that six of the largest football clubs in Wales Cardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham, Newport County, Methyr Tydfil and Colwyn Bay all play in the English football league system. This scenario is virtually unprecedented in Europe, but in spite of this clear disadvantage, the Welsh Premier League continues to survive, despite average crowds being comparatively low at around the 300 mark.
Overview
The league was formed in 1992 with nineteen teams. The League normally provides three teams for European club competitions (though they invariably do not progress far) -- the League Champions are entered in the UEFA Champions League, the runners-up in the UEFA Cup, and the third place team in the Intertoto Cup. Normally a fourth team is also entered in the UEFA Cup as winners of the Welsh Cup.
Formation of the League of Wales
The creation of the first national football league for Wales in 1992 was a rather traumatic event. Because of geography, it has always been much easier to travel east-west than north-south, so it was natural for clubs to tend to look east to England for competitors, and the principal non-Football League teams such a Bangor City and Barry Town played in the English non-League pyramid.
In the early 1990s UEFA insisted that clubs should not play in a "foreign" league (and arguments about the United Kingdom being one country do not wash with UEFA because all four countries participate in international competition in their own right), thus came about the creation of the League of Wales. Many of the northern clubs refused to participate in the new league initially, and for a time played their "home" English league games in exile at grounds to the east of the English border.
Eventually the new order was accepted, although the presence in the Football League of the professional Welsh teams, Cardiff City, Wrexham, and Swansea City, remains an anomaly in the eyes of UEFA, ameliorated only by their being debarred from competing for the Welsh Cup which used to provide one of them with near-guaranteed European competition each year.
Several non-league Welsh sides also play in what is now regarded as the English system: Colwyn Bay, Newport County and Merthyr Tydfil.
Sponsorship
Below is a list of the League's sponsors and what they chose to name the competition:
- 1992: Konica Peter Llewellyn Limited of Swansea (Konica League of Wales)
- 1993-2001: No sponsor .
- 2002-2004: JT Hughes Mitsubishi (JT Hughes Mitsubishi Welsh Premiership)
- 2004-2005: Vauxhall Masterfit Retailers (Vauxhall Masterfit Retailers Welsh Premier League)
Composition of the League
Current teams in the Welsh Premier are:
- Aberystwyth Town
- Airbus UK
- Bangor City
- Caernarfon Town
- Caersws
- Cardiff Grange Quins
- Carmarthen Town
- Connah's Quay Nomads
- Cwmbran Town
- Haverfordwest County
- Llanelli
- NEWI Cefn Druids
- Newtown
- Port Talbot Town
- Porthmadog
- Rhyl
- Total Network Solutions
- Welshpool Town
Former members of the League of Wales
The requirement that two teams be relegated each year (in abeyance when challenged by Welshpool Town in 2003) has resulted in a rapid turnover of teams in the short period of the League's existence.
The following teams have played in the League at some time:
- Abergavenny Thursdays (1992-1993)
- Afan Lido (1992-1996, 1998-2005)
- Barry Town (1992-2004)
- Briton Ferry Athletic (1992-1994, 1995-1997)
- Cemaes Bay (1995-1998)
- Conwy United (1992-2000)
- Ebbw Vale (1992-1998)
- Flint Town United (1992-1998)
- Holywell Town (1992-1997, 1998-1999)
- Llanidloes Town (1992-1993)
- Maesteg Park (1992-1995)
- Mold Alexandra (1992-1995)
- Oswestry Town (1996-2003)
- Rhayader Town (1997-2002)
- Ton Pentre (1993-1996)
- UWIC Inter Cardiff (1992-2001)
Champions
| Season | Champions | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 2004/05 | Total Network Solutions F.C. | Also won the Welsh Cup. |
| 2003/04 | Rhyl F.C. | Also won the Welsh Cup and Welsh League Cup. Losing finalists in the FAW Premier Cup. |
| 2002/03 | Barry Town | |
| 2001/02 | Barry Town | |
| 2000/01 | Barry Town | 1st LOW club to win a Champions League match. Beat FC Shamkir (Azerbaijan) |
| 1999/00 | TNS (Llansantffraidd) | |
| 1998/99 | Barry Town | |
| 1997/98 | Barry Town | |
| 1996/97 | Barry Town | |
| 1995/96 | Barry Town | Beat Dinaburg (Latvia), Visutas Budapest (Hungary), before losing 6:4 on aggregate to Aberdeen. |
| 1994/95 | Bangor City | |
| 1993/94 | Bangor City | |
| 1992/93 | Cwmbran Town | 1st league team to play in Europe. Lost 4-4 on away goals to Cork City |
External links
- League of Wales website
- Excellent unofficial site with stats on every WP plyer since the League's formation, up to news and match reports
- Excellent LOW picture website
