Celebrating a very special milestone for a Welsh football flagship publication

Welsh Football magazine reaches another milestone with its 250th issue in December 2023.

Launched in 1992, the magazine aimed to fill a gap in the market by covering the domestic and international football scene in Wales.

The nation was asserting its independence from English football and within months we’d see the formation of the first real national league – the League of Wales (now Cymru Premier).

Run by unpaid enthusiasts as a non-profit publication, the magazine has now been published continuously for 32 years and has developed from humble beginnings to a professional quality product, appearing eight times each season.

The first edition of the season, every August, is the annual GUIDE TO WELSH FOOTBALL, the only comprehensive annual preview of the domestic football system in Wales that covers every region of the country and every level of the adult men’s and women’s game.

And every June the season’s run is completed with a comprehensive END OF SEASON REVIEW covering all the season’s honours and outcomes. In between these, the six other issues cover news, articles and comment as the season unfolds, with regular club and football history features.

Editor Dave Collins said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to keep independent print publishing alive for so long, and to ensure that there’s a lasting record of an important era for football in Wales, available to the researchers and historians of the future.

“But none of this could have been achieved without the loyal support of so many contributors and subscribers.”

Leading figures in the birth and development of the magazine were Mark Jones of Prestatyn and Mel ap Ior Thomas of Blaenau Ffestiniog, who have both sadly passed within the past 12 months.

Dave added: “I think it’s quite poignant that we have reached this milestone in a year that has sadly seen the loss of two North Walians who played such big parts in conceiving and launching the magazine 32 years ago, Mel Thomas and Mark Jones.  

“When the idea of a national football magazine was being mooted in late 1991, following the demise of an earlier title, a meeting was arranged in Anglesey after a Cemaes Bay match. On our way up there, we called in to discuss the concept and practicalities with Mel in Blaenau Ffestiniog.

“Mel was, of course, encouraging and keen for us to go ahead. Later that weekend, in Cemaes Bay, Mark was involved in the founding meeting and, as the only one of us with journalistic experience, took on the editor’s role initially.  

“The fact that we have kept a national magazine going for 250 issues seems a fitting memorial to both of them.”

The magazine is print-only and is sold via postal subscription, and through independent Welsh bookshops, the Books Council of Wales and a small number of club shops.

Website: http://www.welsh-football.net

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