How much does North Wales football really need the Cymru Premier League?

This season the Cymru Premier League will feature the joint lowest number of North Wales clubs since its inception 31 years ago.

Just four northern teams – Connah’s Quay Nomads, Bala Town, Caernarfon Town and promoted Colwyn Bay – will be involved in the 12-member national league in 2023-24.

That number matches the quartet of North Wales sides which competed in 2010-11 and 2011-12 – the first two seasons of the league reducing in size to 12 clubs.

In both those campaigns Airbus UK Broughton, Bala Town, Bangor City and Prestatyn Town represented Gogledd Cymru.

Since then the northern contingent has varied between 5 and 7 teams before dropping to four for the season ahead.

Before 2010-11 and going back to 1992-93, League of Wales/Welsh Premier membership fluctuated between 17 and 21 clubs, with as few as four from the north participating in the 2000-01 campaign.

So in short, the amount of North Wales teams in the fixture list this season will be on a par with the lowest ever in the national league’s history.

Is this fact as grim for North Wales football as it appears? How much has the Cymru Premier really done for us in the north? How much is it doing now?

Only three teams from North Wales have ever won the title – Bangor City (3), Rhyl (2) and Connah’s Quay Nomads (2). Two of those clubs – the former pair – have sadly folded, although the respective towns have new teams developing with seemingly promising futures.

Overall, though, North Wales has never been a consistent dominant force in the Cymru Premier.

Does North Wales really need to compete in the national league?

It is a popular view that games in the tier 2 Cymru Premier are often more exciting and draw bigger crowds than the top-flight.

I have long been an advocate of regionalising the national league into Cymru Premier North and South, with the best sides from mid and other parts of Wales joining the most geographically conducive competition for them.

“But it would no longer be a national league” they claim. “How would it affect our UEFA standing?” etc etc

However, the ‘national league’ aspect could be satisfied through end-of-season play-offs involving the North champions and South title winners. Crown an overall champion of Wales that way.

It would involve less regular season travelling for the clubs, more local derbies, a thrilling climax to the campaign guaranteed and would make football increasingly accessible to more fans.

Basically, run it in the same way the women’s Genero Adran North and Adran South Leagues operate now.

Much is made of Europe, but who lands the really big bucks apart from almost perennial champions The New Saints? Making enough money to finance another season of affluence while the rest feed off the scraps.

Connah’s Quay Nomads have done really well in recent years, winning the title twice and qualifying for the Champions League, but how long before that happens again?

Yes, the Europa League money is quite substantial too, but it tends to mainly always go to the same three or four clubs. Those regularly in the CPL bottom-half – the Play-Off Conference – rarely get a sniff.

The Cymru Premier lacks respect in the UK and wider Europe because Wales’ strongest clubs – Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County and Wrexham – are not in it.

How bad does that look? 

Yes the CPL has made some progress in recent seasons – a few decent results in Europe – but overall it largely stands still and for the past two campaigns has not been competitive at all in terms of finishing top. 

TNS have won the last two titles by 21 and 22 points.

While the FAW places its main focus on the national sides, it could also really explore ways of trying to make the CPL more competitive.

We are told this is happening, but we are told a lot…….

And not only that, we need more support towards other tiers, especially grassroots. 

This is where our football really is Together:Stronger and would be much more so if only there was the due financial support and understanding on offer.

Until the FAW totally respects grassroots football, and perhaps even understands what grassroots really is – the tier 4 and 5’s of this world are very important too – where are we going? Too many clubs are folding…..some are made to pay fines for the privilege. Outrageous.

And as for the Academies, well don’t get us started on them…..yet. That one’s for another day.