Can Euro link-up boost chances of FAW reviewing its embarrassing promotion system in women’s football?

Here’s interesting……

The Football Association of Wales has confirmed that the Genero Adran Premier has been admitted to the European Leagues as an associate member.
Founded in 2005, the European Leagues is the voice of Professional Football Leagues across Europe on all matters of common interest.
It aims to enhance and protect the national competitions run by the domestic leagues through collective representation, knowledge sharing, working groups and strategic task forces as well as commercial opportunities.
Previously only men’s domestic leagues – including the JD Cymru Premier – had been part of the European Leagues’ membership, but the Genero Adran Premier has now become one of the first 14 women’s leagues to join the Association following approval at an Extraordinary General Assembly.
It means that Wales’ top-flight now has an enhanced opportunity to collaborate and exchange expertise with the likes of the Women’s Super League in England and Liga F in Spain, while contributing to discussions on the future development of professional football in Europe with governing bodies, stakeholders, EU and political institutions……

Grassroots North Wales viewpoint…..

Okay, great. Of course anything which promotes and strengthens women’s football in Wales has to be welcomed – 100%.
However, now our league will be among their fellow Europeans munching Edam and Croissants, is this an ideal opportunity to advise the FAW to change their ridiculous promotion system?
The whole thing is a laughing stock, something which has been exposed more painfully over the past two seasons.
Twice Connah’s Quay Nomads have won the Tier 2 Adran North, twice without a single loss, and twice they have gained the Tier 1 licence which should have guaranteed elevation to the Adran Premier.
The only problem has been, for some insane reason, the FAW insist on there being a play-off between the Adran North and Adran South champions to fill ONE top-flight vacancy.
Okay, Nomads have lost the play-off twice, agonisingly to Pontypridd United and Cardiff Met respectively, which is disappointing considering they won their own domestic league twice without a solitary defeat, but the fact is they should not have had to sing for their supper one more time in the past two seasons.
If you win your league and earn the necessary licence to be promoted you should go up – no exceptions.
Yet in Wales we do it differently – why? “To add extra drama at the end of the season?” – bloody hell, alright for drama lovers, but not so good for the two clubs concerned.
Believe me, I would be saying exactly the same had Pontypridd and Met lost the last two play-offs. This is a Wales-wide weakness which is blatantly unfair.
The FAW cannot use the ‘we want even numbers in each league’ argument as they have operated the Adran North with seven teams in two of its five seasons.
The same issue surrounds Tier 3 clubs wishing to lift into Tier 2.
Last season, we had two exceptional teams in Central Wales North champions Wrexham Foresters and Llangefni Town, winners of the North Wales Coast League, playing-off for ONE berth in Adran North.
Again, both teams were unbeaten all season and, in all honesty, a country mile ahead of the others in their leagues.
Yes, we had a classic final, which Foresters won on penalties after recovering from 2-0 down to force a shoot out, but as wonderful a spectacle as it was, that game should not have taken place.
Foresters and Llangefni should both have gone up. That may have created an odd number of teams this season, but as previously stated, that has happened before.
Late last season, we were told there would be no relegation from Adran North as it only had seven teams in 2025-26.
Again, an awful state of affairs. Okay, had Nomads gone up, that would have left six in Adran North and opened the doors for the two feeder league champions to join them.
But Nomads had to stay where they are, so either Foresters or Llangefni had to miss out. The common denominator? That pesky play-off system!
We are meant to have a pyramid in operation here; yet no relegation from Tier 2? why not…that’s how a pyramid works.
The FAW encourages clubs to be ambitious and strive for a higher level, yet when they do, it so often seems a pathetic play-off rule gets in their way.
Well, now the Adran Premier is part of the new Euro group, perhaps this issue can be raised as a matter of urgency. Better still, suggest rising the membership of the Adran Premier to 10 teams. We’ve already increased the men’s Cymru Premier from 12 to 16.
The FAW could change the system tomorrow with minimal fuss, but for some reason they won’t. Why? They need to be asked again and again, because we don’t want to see our teams’ progress being blocked in this way.