Grassroots North Wales chooses its 10 favourite Welsh cup competitions – what are yours?
What are your favourite cup competitions of all-time in Welsh football?
For me, number one by some distance is the North Wales Coast FA Junior Cup and all the rest can scramble for the minor placings.
Why? I guess it’s the intimacy and intensity of a competition which creates a massive buzz in our communities and attracts massive crowds.
Take a look at our top 10. I’ve reported on all these competitions endless times over my 36-year writing career.
1 NORTH WALES COAST FA JUNIOR CUP
Competed for since 1895-96, there have been 116 finals and 69 different winners.
Menai Bridge Tigers have won it the most times (8), with Mostyn YMCA second on 6, Gwalchmai and Llanberis joint-third with 5.
The first-ever final was held at Rhyl in 1896 with Bangor lifting the cup after beating St Asaph 3-1.
Over the years it has often been misconstrued that the cup is for junior teams in terms of age.
The competition is, in fact, for adult teams of ‘junior’ or lower pyramid status.
At present, entry is limited to tier 5 clubs competing in North Wales Coast East or West.
It is my favourite cup because of its age and also despite the fact it caters for lower-ranked teams, some of the finals witnessed over the years have been top drawer.
Those which most spring to mind are Point of Ayr’s 6-4 extra time victory over Trearddur Bay in 2010-11, where Asa Thomas scored four for the Anglesey team but ended up on the losing side.
The following season, a highly impressive Morawelon outfit from Holyhead raised the cup at their first attempt, whipping Talysarn Celts 4-1 in the final at Nantporth Stadium, Bangor.
And another classic came in 2014-15, when Llandudno Albion produced some superb goals to see off Trearddur Bay Reserves in another Bangor-based final.
In winning 4-2, Albion became the first team from Llandudno to land the Junior Cup.
2 FAW AMATEUR TROPHY
A national competition which invites entries from tier 3 and below in the Welsh pyramid.
Organised by the Football Association of Wales, it was known as the Welsh Junior Cup until 1902, when it became the Welsh Amateur Cup, a title it held until 1974, when it was renamed the FAW Intermediate Cup. The competition took its current title in 1993.
Just like the Welsh Cup, the FAW Trophy was once open to clubs from the Marches and an English club took the trophy out of Wales on nine occasions:
Winners were: 1897: Coppenhall (Staffordshire); 1899: Oswestry United Reserves (Shropshire); 1900: Wellington St Georges United (Shropshire); 1921: Northern Nomads (Manchester); 1925: Northern Nomads; 1964: Donnington Wood (Shropshire); 1971: Bridgnorth Town (Shropshire); 1974: Whitchurch Alport (Shropshire); 1975: Donnington Wood.
Aberystwyth Town and Cardiff Corinthians have won the Trophy the most times – 5 apiece.
Best performing North Wales club in the competition’s history is Chirk AAA with 4 wins.
There have been 121 finals and 66 competition winners.
In recent seasons, North Wales teams have shone especially brightly in the Trophy, hence why it has become such a personal favourite.
Best final for me – and possibly the greatest of all-time – came in 2010-11 when Holywell Town fought back from 2-0 down entering the 90th minute to beat Conwy United 3-2 at Belle Vue, Rhyl.
3 FAW PREMIER CUP
This was a cracking competition which ran between 1997 and 2008.
Since excluding clubs playing in English leagues from entering the Welsh Cup from 1996 onwards, the FAW needed another competition where the best Welsh teams could compete.
The original FAW Premier Cup format incorporated the three Welsh clubs then playing in the Football League (Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham) along with Merthyr Tydfil and four League of Wales clubs (now the 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 from the Welsh Premier, 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.
The FAW Premier Cup was broadcast on BBC Wales. However, after the TV station withdrew sponsorship in 2008, the competition was cancelled.
Wrexham won five of the 11 finals, Swansea City two, Cardiff City, Newport County, Barry Town and The New Saints one each.
While Welsh Premier clubs only won the competition twice, it did offer our national league sides some great adventures, with Rhyl getting to the 2003-04 final, knocking out Swansea City 2-0 in the semis before losing 4-1 to Wrexham in the showpiece.
With £100,000 on offer to the winners, the bigger clubs generally would field strong sides, giving the competition more glamour.
The FAW Premier Cup has never been replaced and is definitely missed by many.
4 NEWFA CHALLENGE CUP
While equivalent competitions in other areas of North Wales have fallen by the wayside, the North East Wales FA Senior Challenge Cup has remained strong.
Running since 1969-70, there have been 52 finals with Buckley Town winning the most (9) followed by Brymbo and Cefn Druids on six apiece.
With clubs between tiers 2 to 5 able to enter, the cup often throws up upsets and is one all the teams are very keen to win.
5 DARGIE CUP
The oldest cup competed for within the confines of the former Anglesey Football League.
The Dargie crowned its first winners – Benllech – in 1922/23.
The competition saw its final ball kicked at the end of 2018/19. Covid caused it to be cancelled in 2019/20 then the Anglesey League disbanded in 2021 – the Dargie was the cup island clubs craved above all others.
Available records show 87 finals were played and Newborough topped the chart with eight wins, Llanfairpwll and Llangefni Town scooping six apiece.
The last final in 2018/19 was won by Caergybi.
While the two other main cups within the Anglesey League – the Megan and the Elias – were respected too, the Dargie was regarded as the king of domestic trophies on Ynys Môn.
6 COOKSON CUP
Still going, but does not permit the same entry geographically it once did.
The Cookson Cup was introduced in 1948/49 under the Welsh League (North) flagship and Holyhead Town won the first two competitions before Pwllheli did likewise straight after.
When the Welsh League (North) became the Welsh Alliance League in 1984-85, the Cookson remained part of the domestic ‘double’ teams sought.
There have been 72 finals and five teams have won the cup 5 times – Holyhead Town, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bangor City Reserves, Bethesda Athletic and Colwyn Bay.
Since the Welsh Alliance folded, the Cookson has been competed for by teams in the tier 4 North Wales Coast East Premier Division only, CPD Y Rhyl 1879 and St Asaph City the first two winners, both as part of a league and cup double (Saints added the NWCFA Intermediate).
7 CLWYD LEAGUE PRESIDENT’S CUP
Always a great cup to win, the President’s was part of the old Clwyd League prize board before transferring to the Vale of Clwyd and Conwy League.
Numerous prestigious clubs won this trophy, one of the most memorable successes coming in 2014-15, when Prestatyn Sports beat Llandudno Albion 2-1 in the final as part of an unprecedented Vale of Clwyd and Conwy League quadruple.
Prestatyn Town, Rhyl Delta, St Asaph City…..some tremendous teams scooped the President’s Cup, now sadly no longer on the competition roster.
8 NATHANIEL MG CUP
Formerly the Welsh League Cup, the competition has taken on its sponsor’s name since 2016 and expanded its entry to include tier 2 clubs and ‘wildcard’ entries from lower tiers on occasion..
The increase in competing clubs has certainly opened the door for some giant-killings and as a result this cup has thrown up some fascinating stories in recent years.
The best of these came in 2015-16, when Denbigh Town from tier 2 knocked out three Welsh Premier sides and reached what was then known as the Word Cup Final, where they gallantly went down 2-0 to The New Saints.
The Welsh League Cup was first introduced in 1992/93 and since 2002/03 has been named after its sponsor, giving it the following names: Loosemores League Cup (2003 to 2012), The Word Cup (2012 to 2016) and Nathaniel MG Cup (2016 to present).
With a prize fund of £15,000 and no Europe incentive for the winners, the rewards for winning this cup are modest, but it does give the smaller clubs an occasional go at the ‘big boys’.
There have been 30 finals, with The New Saints winning 9, Barry Town 4, Connah’s Quay Nomads, Afan Lido, Caersws and Carmarthen Town 3 apiece and the former Rhyl FC 2.
The competition has grown on me over the years, but needs a surprise winner to boost its romance potential.
9 NWCFA CHALLENGE CUP
This cup would be much higher on my list had it not been treated so badly by clubs and the NWCFA over recent years.
Once the biggest knockout competition in the north, the Coast Challenge Cup has been suspended since 2014.
The emergence of high-profile leagues like the Welsh Premier and Cymru North in the early 1990’s, plus other attractive cup competitions, became larger priorities for the higher-ranked clubs.
Steadily through the 90’s and into the new millennium, bigger clubs selected weaker sides for the NWCFA Challenge Cup and some even withdrew.
First introduced in 1923-24, the finals used to regularly pull in huge crowds, especially when teams like Bangor City, Rhyl and Holyhead Town were involved.
There were 87 finals between 1923-24 and 2013-14, Rhyl winning the cup the most times (16), with Bangor City recording 13 wins, Colwyn Bay 10, Caernarfon Town 9 and Porthmadog 7.
Despite my disappointment of there being no Coast Challenge Cup competition for 10 seasons, it will always remain close to my heart.
The greatest match I’ve ever seen as a North Wales football fan was a NWCFA Challenge Cup Final – the 2012-13 showpiece at Belle Vue where Prestatyn Town beat Rhyl on penalties after a 5-5 draw.
10 NWCFA INTERMEDIATE CUP
Another competition which has lost much credibility since the 1970’s, although it is now back on the schedule.
Began life as the North Wales Coast Amateur Cup back in 1894/95 and proudly kept that name until 1975/76 when it became the NWCFA Intermediate Cup.
After six seasons the competition was suspended for the 1981/82 season and remained off the agenda until 2008/09.
Another eight competitions took place until the cup was cancelled once more in 2016/17.
In 2021-22, Bangor 1876 and CPD Y Rhyl 1879 reached the final, which was never played as organisers were unable to fit in a suitable date and venue before the end of the season.
They tried again last season and this time the competition was completed, St Asaph City beating Menai Bridge Tigers in the 86th final since 1894/95.
Bangor have lifted the cup on the most occasions (8) with Caernarfon Town second on 5.