Wales are a proud nation with a strong sporting presence. In a country with just a population of just over 3 million, they have constantly competed with the world’s best, but why are their top football teams playing in England?
No matter the sport, Wales have challenged the top teams and made their people proud. While their national football team continue to challenge to qualify for major tournaments, it’s their national football league that seems to suffer. With the performances of Shamrock Rovers in the UEFA Conference League this season, a lot of credit must be given to the resurgence of the League of Ireland for their ability to challenge and compete with the professional sides in Europe. Scottish teams must be commended for their consistency in European competitions, especially with the dominance of Celtic over the last number of years. The New Saints have been dominant in the Welsh Premier League, winning 11 of the last 13 titles, but with just one win and a 32nd place finish in the Conference League, should the Football Association of Wales (FAW) be concerned?
Why do some Welsh teams play in England?
Four Welsh teams, Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County, and Wrexham have always been part of the English league system and, without question, these sides would make the Welsh league a lot more competitive. Their allegiances lie in the English league, however, and always have. At the end of the day, it’s not entirely their fault. While the FAW is the third oldest association in the world, having been founded in 1876, they had no official football league established.
Wales have always struggled with the foundation of a national league and it wasn’t until 1992 that the FAW had created a national league for the country. They had previous failed attempts at a nationwide league due to the difficult transport between north and south Wales but due to the increasing pressure from FIFA, it was eventually formed, much to the satisfaction of the Welsh people. With this newly found league system, the five teams decided to remain within the English Football League system but it wasn’t without controversy.
By the time the FAW formed the Welsh National League, Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County and Wrexham were all playing their football in England. After the league formation, the FAW permitted three clubs, Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham, to remain due to their status in the EFL. They did however insist that any team playing in non-league should return to Wales. This caused tension within the country as a number of Welsh teams had already made the move across the border to play in the English non-league system. Those clubs included Bangor City, Barry Town, Caernarfon Town, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Town, Newport County, Newtown and Rhyl.
The clubs were not convinced about returning to Wales and this angered the FAW. With the threat of sanctions and the refusal of home games to be played on Welsh soil, a court case settled the dispute but most of the clubs, bar Newport County and Merthyr Town, would eventually return to play in the Welsh League.
Welsh Teams and UEFA Competitions.
Up until 1995, Welsh teams playing in England could qualify for Europe by winning the Welsh Cup. This decision was overturned by UEFA and they instructed that the only way a Welsh team, playing in England, could compete in Europe was through the English leagues. The FAW had hoped to be able to use the Welsh Cup as a means of European qualification and entice these sides to compete in this competition. This was dismissed by UEFA and stated that only teams playing in Wales could qualify to represent Wales in Europe.
Since 1995, Cardiff City and Swansea City have been banned from competing in the Welsh Cup and it had a damaging effect on the competition. FAW spokesman Ian Gwyn Hughes admitted that without these sides competing, “the Welsh Cup the profile has dropped”. Talks have resumed however and there are hopes that a newly formed Welsh League Cup could provide a chance for the teams to return and compete for a chance to represent Wales in the Europa Conference League.
There are mixed feelings about this potential move as Welsh football fans aren’t too convinced about including the English-based Welsh clubs. On one side, it would create a possible bigger pay day for lower level Welsh clubs to play against one of these teams. On the other hand, the chance of success for the Welsh based clubs are substantially lower with the likes of Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham using this competition for an easier route to play in Europe.
There is a problem with the Welsh domestic league and the FAW are under increasing pressure to increase the value and interest of Welsh football. The exclusion of the country’s top clubs is having an effect on their national league and allowing the clubs to return and play in the cup competitions would benefit and create more investment, media attention, and fan engagement.