Should The FAW Premier Cup Make A Return?
After the six Welsh clubs playing in the English leagues were excluded from competing in the Welsh Cup after the 1995/96 season, the FAW needed another competition to get the best domestic teams competing. This is the story of the short-lived Premier Cup, why it does not take place now and looking at if it could ever make a return.
Originally known as the FAW Invitation Cup until 1998, the original format of the Premier Cup saw the three Welsh clubs then playing in the English Football League (Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham), non-league Merthyr Tydfil and four clubs in the League of Wales (Cymru Premier). Until the 2001–02 season, Merthyr Tydfil had a guaranteed place, as Newport County and Colwyn Bay were not invited to take part. From then onwards, the highest placed of the three were invited. Colwyn Bay never subsequently qualified. From the 2004–05 season, the competition was expanded to 16 clubs. The top 10 placed clubs from the Welsh Premier League, joined by the two best-placed of the three teams: Newport County, Merthyr Tydfil and Colwyn Bay, the Welsh Cup winners plus Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham. They played each other home and away in two groups of four teams, with the top two clubs in each group going forward to the quarter-finals. Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham join them in the last eight, along with the Welsh Cup winners. The games were then played on a straight knockout basis. The tournament meant derbies were commonplace, providing the chance for rivalries on the pitch (and sometimes off it) to be renewed. Cardiff and Swansea often clashed in the cup and Barry Town and Merthyr Tydfil had the added element of Barry being arguably the League of Wales’ best club and Merthyr snubbing the LOW altogether. Footage from the 1999 final found below:
BBC Wales were the main sponsors of the Premier Cup, providing the clubs with TV coverage money alongside a healthy prize fund from the FAW. Losing semi-finalists received £25,000 each, the losing finalist received £50,000 and the winners £100,000. It was when the BBC ended their sponsorship of the cup in 2008 which led to its cancellation. Wrexham were the most successful side during the cup’s existence, winning it five times and appearing in all but three of the finals. Despite a strong financial backing during the early 2000s under then-owner Sam Hammam, Cardiff City only won one Premier Cup in 2002, the club themselves were known to treat the tournament lightly by fielding lesser sides to compete. Swansea City won back to back Premier Cups in 2005 and 2006, both times beating Wrexham 2–1. The 2005 final was Swansea’s last game at their much-beloved home of the Vetch Field. Newport County won their only Premier Cup in 2008 (currently the last final of the cup), beating Llanelli 1–0 at Spytty Park. The only sides in the Welsh pyramid to win the Premier Cup were Barry Town in 1999 and The New Saints in 2007, with Barry beating Wrexham 2–1 at The Racecourse and TNS beating Newport County 1–0 at Spytty Park.
The three EFL clubs were often accused of not taking the tournament seriously, playing reserve sides due to other commitments in their leagues and other cup competitions. Attendances for fixturesand finals were on average around the mid thousands. Often credited as the best game to take place in terms of atmosphere, over 11,000 went through Ninian Park’s turnstiles for the final in 2002, with a Graham Kavanagh free kick seeing Cardiff City beat Swansea City in what felt like a throwback to the days of the Welsh clubs competing in England crossing paths in the Welsh Cup
Will we ever see a return of the Premier Cup? Although unlikely, the format itself should be of consideration to the FAW as they look ahead to the future of the domestic game. The Premier Cup bridged the gap after the clubs who used to compete in the Welsh Cup couldn’t do so anymore. It never held the prestige that the Welsh Cup still does (Cardiff still sing about winning the Welsh Cup in their Allez Allez Allez chant, you don’t often hear about their 2002 triumph in the Premier Cup do you?) At the moment, the Nathaniel MG Cup (Welsh League Cup) has the U23 sides of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport competing but this doesn’t get the fans excited. Having a cup where away days that clubs don’t get at the moment would be a welcomed return. Improving the ties between Cymru Premier clubs and the five Welsh clubs in the English pyramid would be just as welcomed. We don’t get to see games such as Merthyr V Barry anymore, once a strong rivalry is potentially now a pre-season fixture at most. Imagine the Cofi’s of Caernarfon Town coming to Rodney Parade in numbers for a midweek cup clash against the Amber Army? Or the likes of Fflint taking on the Bluebirds or the Jack Army? At the moment this seems unlikely but as with most things in football, you never know what changes are around the corner.
