Just to let you know the welsh lingo is the lingo that translates the famous hieroglyphics in the pyramids = its the language of the heavens. .. pass it on!
My local team (Haverfordwest County) got into the Conference League qualifying rounds a couple of years ago. It was mental. We beat Shkëndija of North Macedonia on penalties but lost to B36 Tórshavn in the next round. The only downside of the whole thing is that we had to play our home matches at the Cardiff City Stadium - which is about 100 miles away.
Also local in Haverfordwest. Small world lol. Yea I remember and was rooting for them to get into Conference League. Shame to play potentially 100 miles away as it cuts out a lot of their fans.
It should be noted that the Cymru Premier is mostly a semi-professional league, with most of the teams not even being professional teams. In fact the New Saints is pretty much the only professional team aside from, what I can gather, 3 other teams Basically, the Welsh league is a semi-professional league with The New Saints farming every year for European football
I mean in the MLS, the Canadian teams play in their domestic cup in Canada, which allows them to qualify for the ccl (Concacaf Champions League). So it's quite similar to that.
Since you mentioned them early, I think the downfall of Valencia would also make for interesting stuff for your analysis. They barely escaped relegation last season, this season they're last in La Liga after losing to Las Palmas, which beat them to get their first league win since February and were dead last before beating and overtaking Valencia.
@@Steaks652 You think a Welsh Premier league club has the facilities to keep him for for the international tournament (which was the sole reason he prolonged his career an extra 6 months)? Although it could have been a fairytale end to his career, it could have ruined his chances at one last major international tournament. Also, the reality is that it probably wouldn’t have the long lasting positive effect on the Welsh club as you’d imagine. Sure, there would be a short term boost in attendances (and even that wouldn’t be as much as you think due to how few people most Welsh teams can fit in the crowd), but as has been proven with big names is smaller leagues, that initial interest often goes when the player does. Also, let’s be honest. If he were to join any club, it would likely to have been a Cardiff or Swansea, and in that situation, his career would have ended pretty much the same way as it did in the US, the only difference is it would have been a Welsh team spending those wages on a player rarely able to play instead of an American one
0:00 The New Saints, Bala Town, Flint Town United, Haverfordwest County, The Nomads (Connahs Quay), Aber, Cardiff Met and Pen-y-bont are all the teams I can remember. The Cymru Premier is the leagues name (I didn't look it up, i'm a Cymru Premier Fan)
The New Saints stadium is located in Oswestry; also known Croesoswallt. Which is both a histrionicly welsh area , and indeed has it own welsh speakers. It even is debated to this day whether Oswestry is either english or should be considered apart of wales as it falls on the border between the two; however years ago the territory of Oswestry would have been predominantly welsh due to its close borders and culture which is imbraced there. Thats not to say that it isnt in England by location but just to say that is has its links to wales in some form. 🏴
Ipswich were (many years ago) regulars in Europe, my dad, grandad and uncle saw us win the UEFA Cup in ‘81. I really hope I can see us there in my lifetime! European football is so so special, often taken for granted tbf! Also bigup Vizeh, video drops and my day gets groovier 😎
It'll probably end up like Vaduz in Switzerland if it goes through. They still play in the Swiss leagues and stuff, but are also allowed in the Lichtenstein Cup, so get a bit of european football that way.
They're not entirely analogous as the reason that Liechtensteiner clubs play in the Swiss league is because there is no Liechtenstein league at all; they don't have a choice. If the four Welsh teams in question were to participate in one country's league system but the other's knockout competitions, they'd be leaving themselves open to the criticism of essentially taking advantage of a geographical quirk, picking and choosing which country they choose to belong to depending on which suits them better.
Swansea City have represented England in the Europa League as EFL Cup holders since UEFA ruled that Vaduz can't represent Switzerland in Europe even if they somehow win the Swiss league, so no, Liechtenstein can't be cited as a precedent for Wales to follow.
If this happens, the interesting thing will be if one of the 4 teams get into the Premier League (maybe a long shot for Newport tbf but still). UEFA will only let them qualify via the Welsh League Cup or via The PL, English FA Cup or Carabao Cup. So if a side gets into the PL and feels it can qualify for Europe through the English system (as they have a PL quality team), do they pull out of the Welsh League Cup? As taking national pride out of it, it is better to qualify for Europe as an "English" team as you at most will have to play one qualifier (in the Conf League, the CL and EL you just go into the league phase) and you will get more TV money as England are substantially higher than Wales in the coefficient rankings (which is partly used for that). So I think the Welsh FA need to get a legally binding assurance from the 4 teams that they have to commit to this new way for at least 10 years or something, they can't just pull out and go back into it whenever they want really.
They shouldn’t be allowed to pull out of the Welsh Cup. They should be only allowed to qualify through the Welsh Cup (to the UECL) or the PL (based on position). People saying Welsh-English clubs should be kicked from the pyramid though are selfish tbh.
The Welsh clubs in the English System should be allowed to play in the Welsh Cup, but they cannot qualify into Europe through the FA or EFL Cup, given they’ll have a easier route to the Conference League. Qualification gotta be for UECL too. Also they have to still play in the English cups.
If they take part in the Welsh cup, they shouldn't be even part of at least 1 of the 2 (FA or EFL). But I like the idea & it's the same with the canadian MLS franchises which play the canadian cup.
Needed to have my say. Yeah, TNS play in Oswestry just across the border, however, they were originally Llansanffraid FC and they were a very successful Welsh side. In 2003, they were doing well and were approached by a financially struggling Oswestry Town FC about a potential merge of the two teams. Oswestry is only 10 minutes down the road and they also played in the league of Wales so when the two clubs combined, it made no sense to move to the English leagues especially since most of the power was coming from Llan. The club's heritage is Welsh and there was a lot of fuss about them moving to the new stadium in Oswestry. Even today, despite their success, a lot of Welsh football fans dislike TNS and refuse to support them. I should know, I'm a local. I support Guilsfield, the team which you flashed up at 9:12 and I was one of the 140 who turned up.
I was just looking into welsh football yesterday when I saw an ad for new saints in the conference league and I wondered "Where are they from I've never heard of them before" this video is perfectly timed lmao
As you requested: Welsh Premier League Aberystwyth Town Barry Town United Bala Town Briton Ferry Llansawel Cardiff Metropolitan University Caernarfon Town Connah's Quay Nomads Flint Town United Haverfordwest County Newtown Penybont (Welsh for Bridgend) The New Saints (currently, the only non-Wales located club in the league, although there are currently rumours of a TNS-Merthyr 'switcheroo' for next season). I can also include the Cymru North and Cymru South leagues, seeing that you are seemingly unaware of who plays where ;)
More than 4 teams historically used to play in the English pyramid. When the Cymru Premier was formed in 1992, 5 Welsh sides switched from non-league, and more recently Colwyn Bay joined in 2019. A lot of Welsh clubs were also part of the Southern League (which for a while in the 1920s had a ‘Welsh Division’), with Merthyr Town still playing there.
There used to be a tournament called the FAW Premier Cup that had Swansea, Cardiff etc in alongside the Welsh league clubs up to 2008… was always really well attended and great to have those teams travelling to us! I’d fully welcome that move in the League Cup to grow interest in the domestic game
You only have to go back to the early 90's for Swansea, Cardiff and Wrexham to be playing in the Welsh FA cup so the idea has a strong historical president. Also in 1992 the final was Cardiff City vs Hednesford Town (Hednesford is on the north side of Birmingham). The last Welsh cup final to have more than 10,000 tickets sold was Wrexham vs Cardiff in 95. It was UEFA that forced the change in the 90's not the clubs or the Welsh FA. So, I'm all for having some better teams playing in the Welsh FA cup, if they have their grounds in Wales, as that's how it used to be.
I didn't really like the Welsh Football, but I would say The New Saints are quite familiar with the English Football. In the past, TNS were the first opponents of Manchester City when the latter played their first home games in European Football at the current Etihad Stadium, while also faced Liverpool in the Champions League first qualification round after the latter qualified as a defending champions (despite being 5th in the Premier League).
Little more information coming from a Newport fan We as a club have not been contacted at all in terms of this League cup nonsense, as confirmed by our manager and as much as i cherish our european tour and the friendship with Zeiss Jena i wouldnt want to take that away from the actual welsh league clubs like Caernarfon who managed to make it into europe for the 1st time and got treated to a match with Legia Warsaw
Interesting that they compete in the fa cup , efl cup and welsh cup then, for example in Canada the mls teams from there compete in the Canadian championship but not in the us open cup, in fairness , us open cup is a mess as over half the league has pulled out, but I’m just wondering if it’s fair to other clubs particularly if like a conference league spot is on the line or something
I'm glad you're making this video, as someone who attended his first Cymru Premier game this season (I'd lived in England till a few years ago) this could be a big help if used correctly. Make sure you play games on a Friday night, Saturday and Sunday and make the big 4 play the fixtures as away teams you'll get the turn out from the Fans of these clubs. Do I think Swansea fans will turn up for a home game against Briton Ferry Llansanwel no but if you play it at Briton Ferry's place the ground will be full at the atmosphere amazing.
From a League of Ireland supporter's perspective (minor league that is swiftly growing in all areas) I think the proposed changes only suit the big Welsh teams in the EFL whilst actually stunting any potential future growth of actual Welsh League teams. It reminds me of a proposal from a number of years ago that set to have a Dublin based team enter the EFL with the thought process being that said team would have an unrestricted pool of fans in Dublin/Ireland, giving the team financial benefits whilst killing off support in the region for League of Ireland teams that were poor and already suffered from low attendances. Making 'Irish' football look while it was improving by killing off the actual Irish footballing structure. Pooling European prize money amongst the league has been dismissed my most clubs in Ireland to the the Pandora's Box it opens with regards to how its distributed. So in Wales should TNS, the only professional team in the league, get the same amount of money as semi-pro/amateur teams? they have higher costs and in essence provide the greatest contribution to the league regarding player development, pathways, attendances, coefficient, etc., so they have the highest costs. If the answer is yes then they will understandably be against these changes as they have dominated the league for years now and these changes would pin them back. If their is a scaled model of distribution then you may have a case that lesser teams are actually better off minimising their expenses in order to maximise the profit provided by their share of the pooled money, meaning that these clubs aren't (at least initially) investing/growing footballing structures and facilities in Wales. This scenario would be even worse if private investors started viewing these clubs as 'investment' opportunities. Regarding the coefficient, I doubt that the contribution of the Welsh EFL teams will be allowed to go towards the Welsh League's ranking. Its clear that its a pretty dirty and backdoor route of manipulating the coefficient. If you take into account the case of Vaduz, a Liechtensteiner club in the Swiss League, who do not contribute to the Swiss Leagues coefficient due to being guests, then the same would apply to the 'Welsh teams' of the EFL, who are in the eyes of UEFA English clubs due to their licensing. Direct investment (which is part of the plan already thankfully) is the only way the league will actually grow. The plan for the cup is terrible, it will effectively relegate the competition in the eyes of Welsh league teams as a participation tournament as they can't compete, letting the Welsh EFL teams abuse its structures and undermine the league. Its like knowingly polishing a **** and believing that a nice shine will eventually appear.
I’m from Colwyn Bay. Probably the ‘biggest’ club in the Welsh League. Currently fighting for promotion from the 2nd tier after being relegated from the Premier League the season before. The Welsh League is like any other really. The club that pays the biggest wages wins. Sensitively handled though, Vizeh matey. As always. Boss video.
Cwmbran Town, Llanelli AFC, Rhyl FC, Connah's Quay, Bangor City, Barry Town, penybont, Haverfordwest, caernarfon, Bala Town, aberystwyth.... There's more but my brain hurts so....
i like it, I'm sure the 4 English League Welsh Clubs would sacrifice playing in the English FA Cup to play in the Welsh FA Cup instead, the proposal would be similar to the current Liechtenstein system which is good and helps FC Vaduz, The only 2 downsides to this would be they wouldn't ever get to play in the Champions League even if they made top 4 of the EPL, which hasn't happened to a Welsh Club before anyway so not over worrying, they would have to win Conference league and Europa League back to back if they were to ever make it. Other downside would be to the current 3rd/4th Cymru Team who is taking that spot would now miss out on the Conference League spot. But if the whole Cymru League get more money overall then i'm sure they won't mind trying to fight for a higher place. The Cymru League winner still gets the Champions League 1st round qualifying spot so they aren't missing out on that.
As a Cardiff fan, I’m happy in the English system. The old welsh cup route into Europe used to be fun, and a few English teams were invited and even won the cup. I think if Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, Newport, and Merthyr entered again, then a few English teams should be invited as well to make it fair. The only other way to make to make it fair, is to not let the welsh clubs qualify for Europe through the English system. We can’t have our cake and eat it.
When you said thing of a Welsh team that play domestically, I thought of TNS not sure if there a team anymore but used to be quite high in the welsh league.
Nice video mate nice to see the Welsh league get a shout out! I agree that it’s probably benefits all the Welsh prem teams as if they draw a Cardiff swansea etc the ticket revenue will greatly benefit them, though I see the “England b team” as a bit frustrating, ideally we’d like all our players to be born and bred Welsh but England have done the same with Rice and Grealish and particularly in other sports like rugby and cricket they have had plenty of non English players in their teams
As a welshman i would love it if my team cardiff city enter the welsh cup and potentially go onto a major european tournament. this can only be a positive step to give teams like cardiff swansea wrexham and newport the spotlight in a major european cup competition stage.
Tbf as a Welsh men I could only name one team in the Welsh league new saints because of the football heads game and great pronunciation with wales cum ree 👍 Grear to see a wales video
honestly I think this would be a good change and hear me out might give some amazing surprises in the cup, might even improve the quality of football in welsh football.
@@Vizeh its a double edged sword, as much as they utterly dominate (though not as much this year, good on ya penybont) we utterly NEED them for the coefficient as we sit just on the bubble of going down to 3 europe spots (which we did do 2 years ago but regained them since)
Lad, TNS aren’t even good enough to compete in the National League North imo. They’re only 1 of 2 teams that are professional in the Cymru Premier (the other being Connah Quay Nomads), and all the rest are semi-pro. They’re facing semi-pro competition week in and week out, so if you put them into League 2 or even the National League where all or most teams are professional respectively, they would be eaten alive and barely get 10 points in League 2 and barely get 25 points in the National League.
If the Welsh league clubs are upto, which i think they are, is a net benefit for everyone. Improves wales coefficient and brings eyes into the Welsh league through sponsorship. As for feeling pride, love the dragon is on their chest, they are Welsh and backed fully.
I can imagine Merthyr's attendances would drop if they left the English pyramid to join the Welsh one. Just look at Barry vs Penybont the other day, big game, a local rivalry (just 15 miles apart), in a quarter final of the league cup and only 300 in attendance. Merthyr got over 900 at their last league game.
@@Mrd92.I don't think that's true at all. Colwyn bay were playing in England before 2019 and they rarely got any fans, now they're one of the most followed teams in the Welsh leagues. if Merthyr joined the Welsh league it would boost attendances, they would be playing against local teams instead of quimford on the wibble from england
Merthyr would easily outnumber the Welsh Premier League teams in attendance. It was the 2015 UEFA grassroots team of the year, has probably the best stadium outside the League.. and they had their own European triumph beating Atalanta. Source: Merthyr man
Always heard stories from my dad and others of Wrexham beating Futres Porto playing against Roma, Anderlecht and Magdeburg in the cup winners cup. But it was always hard to imagine when we spent a lifetime in non league. Would love to rejoin the Welsh cup but I have mixed feelings about it.
Having a championship side receiving regular European money, as well as offering the opportunity to play in European competition for young and upcoming talents seems like it would create a very unfair system. Propelling the lucky Welsh team up the football league, in a way that wouldn’t be possible for the teams competing around them. The championship has really seen a divide between the haves and the have-nots developing in recent years, with occasional surprise faces succeeding alongside a sea of familiar faces, I feel like this change would increase this problem. If one or multiple clubs are able to qualify through Welsh cup competitions, we could soon see a world where 10 premier league teams qualify for Europe in a single season. Hypothetically I’d love to see an event like that happen, having to live in that reality seems like it would be hell.
The problem I have is that if we were to have the big 4 join the competition, are they realistically going to play their full strength side against teams against cefn druids, abertillery bluebirds etc? That alone would coincide with the EFL Trophy and tarnish the competition. If they were to play their biggest side, you’re talking an approximate extra 6-8 games for Newport and Wrexham alone, on top of 46 league games and three domestic competitions in England
Think it would generally be very good to have actual Welsh representation in Europe, proper clubs which can hold their ground rather than be knocked out in the qualifiers. This kinda (though not really) reminds me of how the URC works in rugby, multi-country league, best performing team from each country in that league get their respective european spots, except replace that league with a cup competition I suppose.
I mean they’d probably have to start playing the Welsh cup final at the principality then - would be interesting to see the sort of sides the 4 EFL teams put out when playing each other in it. (This makes me kind of salty as a Bristol City fan that Cardiff/Swansea who are 2 similarly sized/ level localish teams are getting a realistic bye into Europe)
This would be a bit unfair on the English league teams - Suddenly there are a few teams that have a fairly easy shot at European football and extra income that the English teams wouldn't have access to.
You will find the majority of football fans who support their local domestic Welsh football team in the Welsh pyramid as being against this idea. If Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham, Newport and Merthyr want to a piece of the European pie then they need to leave the English system and join the Welsh system. The idea of these clubs playing in the Welsh League Cup and a European spot being removed from the Welsh Premier League and allocated to the winners will more than likely be stopped by UEFA. Their rules do not allow teams to play in one domestic system and qualify via another domestic route. If UEFA allowed that for these teams then lots of other clubs across UEFA will want to do something similar. Some arguments have pointed out Liechstenstein, but they only have 7 clubs in their country and NO domesric league, and they all play in Switzerland. They maintain a domestic cup competition which 1 team can enter the qualifying rounds of the Conference League but to do that they all gave up any chance to qualify for Europe through the Swiss league and had to not enter the Swiss cup. This who thing is a non starter.
As a wolves fan i am in pain. We are losing badly and i feel like there’s not even content to watch, and I can’t go to the games as I live in the USA. You should do a vid abt the state of wolves right now🔥 ITS HELL IN HERE🔥🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️‼️‼️
I will be real the way they should make a Welsh cup and do what Luxembourg do with their cup and winners get the EUCL and maybe have the Welsh Clubs in the EFL to play
I guessed at Bangor (but there isn’t a team called that in the Welsh Premier) and Aberystwyth, who do exist in the Welsh Premier League, but are not a university team like I thought.
Bangor used to be a big team in the Welsh prem, but they stopped existing a few years ago and came back as Bangor 1876, they are currently in the 2nd tier
When I was a kid I was playing in a chess tournament in Wales and we went to see Afan Lido play against RAF RIga (Latvia) in a European competition. It was rubbish.
Great video. I personally dont see the issue with players born in another country representing the country of their parents/grandparents, theres a massive Welsh diaspora in England so thats always going to happen, just like you get English born players of other diasporas like caribbean, african and asian nations. I personally know Welsh people who moved out of the country had children, and those children see themselves as Welsh despite being born outside Wales. I'm fine with someone like Raheem Sterling playing for England but if you have to play for the country your born in then he would have had to have played for Jamaica as he didnt move to England until he was 5 and both his parents Jamaican.
I timed myself 10 seconds and I got Cardiff Met Uni, TNS, Newtown, Bala, and Aberystwyth. I then checked the league table and what do you mean Penybont is first and Haverford West are second? wtf? Edit: I only got Newtown because I managed them once in Football Manager and really any of my Welsh football knowledge comes from playing Football Manager
Unfortunately the Welsh league teams have to compete with the already established "big" teams playing in England. As for the poor attendances we have a number of teams that are financed but dont really have any support TNS, Cardiff Met etc. (Also worth noting that the cup did not have a European place for those games mentioned and is not really taken very seriously because of this). Hopefully the revamp and introduction of a more serious league cup with the English boys will draw more support.
Cardiff Fan...I'd love to watch Cardiff in Europe but we made our bed when we refused to join the Cymru leagues. I'd be surprised if UEFA, the EFL and PL would still let us qualify for Europe (however unlikely) via the PL and Cups and which would make them competitions a bit pointless competitively speaking especially the FA Cup. I don't particularly have any faith in the FAW spending that money wisely either.
Would Merthyr Town count in this conversation since they play in the English Southern League (Tier 7)? I’ve always looked at there being 5 Welsh clubs who play in the English pyramid, granted Merthyr are firmly outside the EFL.
Penybont, Aberystwyth, Barry Town United, TNS, Haverfordwest and fuck it I'll do a couple second division teams for extra credit, Denbigh and Airbus UK Broughton, yes, that's all off the top of my head
I remember that airbus team, that's another reason I can't take cymru premier seriously, when fucking plane fc is playing in the second tier (sometimes first tier)
Finally, a Welsh League video. We had videos on the San Marino national team, it's now time for one of the worst leagues in Europe to get the spotlight!
What's with all this Wales hatred? Mentioning the players being born in England is so petty for example, genetics don't change depending on where you are born, do they have Welsh blood? Yes. Did they choose Wales? Yes. So what's the problem exactly?! What is it with the Anglo getting jealous at the slightest positive thing when it involves Wales. Love how you call TNS English only to show them celebrating with a Wales flag.
As a Welshman, I can only see this as pure greed by the 4 teams that play in the English league. It shouldn't happen and if they really do want to play the Welsh cup game then they should try and get removed from the English league and placed in the Welsh league.
Swansea were the last club out of the four to be in Europe in 2013/14 although that for FA representation. As long as FAW has three spots for the Uefa Conference League as next season they won't as they only have two spots, if a club wins both the Cymru Premier and Welsh Cup and for the winners of Welsh league cup to enter Uefa Conference League, if they win all 3, then it should be like it is now, 2nd Place with the European play-off. Efl Welsh club will enter as a non-Seeded club in the 1st qualifying round so for them to progess is off to a difficult start, and unless one club enters every season, it be hard for one efl welsh clubs to be seeded just like TNS do. People are saying they should be in the Cymru Premier league yet I'm against this, as this means they be allowed the Champions league, and rather Welsh clubs in the Welsh league system now to enter.
You also fail to mention that the UK government refused to invest 0.1% of what they have in the PL. They spent all their time on EPL and left the Welsh game on the sidel8ne, as per with most bodies they have control over. It's England first, second and Last.
0:01 Airbus F.C. (The club with an A380 as their logo). How do I know them? Because they finished in the Welsh Premier League, with, I kid you not, *-2 POINTS*
TNS was a merger of Llansantffraid (Wales, surprisingly) and Oswestry, England. The welsh club wqs better domestically and the English club had better facilities so the team stayed as the higher uo welsh side moving to the better facilities. They are also the only professional side in Welsh club football so not surprsing they spank the rest
A league’s quality is outwith the control of the people but if that’s how low the attendances are then that’s shocking you’d think the Welsh don’t really like football. I’m Scottish and in Scottish football we still get respectable attendances outside of Celtic & Rangers. It probably would be good to have Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham & Newport join the WPL and in my opinion they should never have been playing in England to begin with.
I would watch Cardiff, Swansea Wrexham and Newport battle for the Wales League..but..probably will never happened..because they like money from ENGLAND F.A😂
0:00 The New Saints, Newtown AFC, Cardiff and Swansea Unis, Connah Quay Nomads, Flint Town United In English system: Wrexham, Newport County, Cardiff City, Swansea City Solution to making people care about Welsh footy: just move Wrexham, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea to the Welsh league.
i can't imagine a reason for any of those teams to do that. there are no sporting nor financial incentives for that. some of the traditionalists at those clubs would be staunchly opposed as well.
