Opinion Piece: Should all Welsh clubs play in Wales?

“Just saying that you have to be aware that supporting one of 5 clubs who play in England is effectively the same as supporting an English side.” This is a quote from a Tweet I saw yesterday which as you can imagine, didn’t go down the best. But it definitely got me thinking about the state of Welsh club football. This is merely my opinion but I am looking at this from both the perspective of someone who supports a Welsh club in the Welsh pyramid and someone who supports a Welsh club in the English pyramid.

But first, some history and context on the matter. There are currently five Welsh clubs in the English football pyramid. Cardiff City, Swansea City (EFL Championship), Newport County (EFL League 2), Wrexham (National League) and Merthyr Town (Southern Football League). All of these clubs have played in the English league system since their founding, and all declined to join the newly formed League of Wales (now the Cymru Premier) when formed in 1992. The reason for these clubs playing in setups across the border is simple, there wasn’t a professional football league in Wales. England already had the professional set up so joining makes perfect sense in terms of making money. Money is what ultimately keeps these clubs playing in England, the FAW simply cannot compete with how huge club football is there compared to what we have now and what was formed in 1992. It is undeniable that the fans of those five clubs make up a massive bulk of Wales fans home and away. We play our games in Cardiff City’s stadium, you see so many flags of these clubs at matches, singing and chanting their hearts out, very important bricks in the Red Wall you could say. So to say these fans are the same as someone who supports Chelsea or Manchester United despite living up the back end of the Rhondda? I can’t agree with that.

What about the Cymru Premier and the entire Welsh football system? I can only speak for myself here but take my word, give it a go. The last few years have seen me dive headfirst into Welsh club football and hand on heart, I can say it is the best decision I have ever made football-wise. With a glory hunting father who lived through the 1980s, like many others around here I was brought up as a Liverpool fan. As I grew up, I fastly became disillusioned with treating this sport as a television show, seeing how sanitised the English Premier League really is. My shake-up came through the first club I ever watched live, my local, Cefn Hengoed. We currently reside in the Taff Ely & Rhymney Valley Leagues (TERV), the seventh tier of Welsh football. Every other Saturday, home and away, no VAR, no overpriced pizzas at the match, it’s as far away as you can get from say watching the Manchester derby on Sky Sports or paying over the odds to watch Liverpool V Middlesbrough. Embracing non-league was an easy choice, and it’s something I suggest you all try to do. I’m not saying ditch whoever you support for good, pop along to a few games, talk to players and staff, go to your clubhouse or local boozer and have a good ‘ol time. At the top of the pyramid is of course the Cymru Premier. 12 clubs in the league, 22 match days in the season before splitting the table in two with the top six clubs forming the Championship Conference and the bottom six making up the Playoff Conference (all points carry on). The season finishes after 32 matches, the side finishing top of the Championship Conference after 32 games is the League Champion, and will qualify for the UEFA Champions League. To date, six teams have won the title in twenty-six seasons. The Runners-Up in the Championship Conference qualify automatically for the UEFA Europa League, whilst the remaining teams qualify for the end of season European Playoffs. The bottom two sides in the Playoff Conference are relegated. Meanwhile, the side finishing top of the Playoff Conference (seventh place in the league table) advances to the European Playoffs. Games are broadcast on S4C which I often find myself tuning into. In my opinion, the biggest issue with the league itself is the FAW. Quite simply, not enough is done to promote our domestic game, from the top to the bottom.

I haven’t got a clue how to make it better, I’m not in a position to bring significant change. Only the ones in power can do that, so what should they do? For one, get more coverage on S4C. Sgorio is the home of the Cymru Premier and cup competitions, so get more games broadcast when they’re on instead of just the one. Another suggestion I have is to introduce something similar to Non-League Day, encouraging fans to possibly experience watching the Cymru Premier and the tiers below. As COVID restrictions ease and fans are finally returning to stadiums and pitches up and down God’s country, there has never been a better time to lay down the foundations for this. I think many forget that if it wasn’t for the League of Wales/Welsh Premier League/Cymru Premier that we wouldn’t even a national team. There would have been no European tours in 2016 and technically 2021 (our fans “experience” of the Euros this year is worthy of its own piece), so why do the FAW continue to neglect our game?

So should all Welsh clubs play in Wales? In an ideal world, yes. Personally, I would love to see a thriving Welsh set up with as many clubs playing, including the ones playing in England as we speak. But the world is far from ideal. The Welsh five in England have always played there, their finances are built around it, to suddenly put them into our pyramid would cripple said clubs, especially the three currently in the EFL. A case can be made for Wrexham and Merthyr to join as they are both in the English non-league setup. The Cymru Premier is often compared to be the same level as the National League in terms of skill, but the latter receives higher attendances than the Welsh league. Factor in the cash provided to the Gog’s from their Hollywood owners, I don’t think you’ll see it. Merthyr aren’t as lucky to have Deadpool and Mac in the boardroom, could the Martyr’s make the switch? I know town fans in favour and not in favour of it, they seem to be the most probable club to switch but only time can tell I suppose. The way I see it, you’d be asking a lot of a fan who’s used to trips to the likes of Bristol, Birmingham, Bolton or any of the many clubs you’d come up against watching the five Welsh clubs in the EFL and non-league. Going from the Severnside derby to Llandudno away sounds mental to many, but this doesn’t give a leg to stand on if you’re going to slate the Cymru Premier and below just because you don’t want to see your club there. It’s far from tinpot, games aren’t watched exclusively by one man and his dog. Caernarfon’s Cofi Army are proof that amazing atmospheres happen in the Welsh pyramid. Pyro, drums, non-stop chants, celebrating goals against Bangor like they’ve just seen a Champions League winning goal. Even in the lower tiers, get a few mates together, get to your local and make the atmosphere. Not only will you love it as a fan, players appreciate it at the lower tiers so much more. The 12th man gets thrown about a lot when talking about football, being it yourself and seeing the difference it makes is just one of many reasons why it’s called the beautiful game.