[[Streaming@]] Online: Cardiff City v Penybont Live Stream 1 July 2023
For 2008–09, Prestatyn Town played in the Welsh Premier League for the first time after promotion from the Cymru Alliance, whilst Llangefni Town were relegated to the Cymru Alliance after only one season. The 2009–10 season saw Bala Town promoted to the Welsh Premier League after they won the Cymru Alliance in 2008–09. They replaced Caernarfon Town who were relegated to the Cymru Alliance. At the end of the 2009–10 season, due to league restructuring Connah's Quay, Porthmadog, Welshpool Town, Caersws and Cefn Druids were relegated to the Cymru Alliance league. Note that sides in the Playoff Conference can finish no higher in the table than seventh.
The 'Irate Eight', as they were dubbed, consisted of Bangor City, Barry Town, Caernarfon Town, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Newtown and Rhyl. At the time, Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham were playing in The Football League, and the FAW decided to allow those teams to continue to play in the English system, although they continued to compete in the Welsh Cup for a few more seasons. The success of these clubs in the Welsh Cups meant that they frequently competed in the European Cup Winners' Cup despite the fact that Wrexham had never played above the Second Division and Swansea had spent just two seasons in the First Division during the early 1980s, while Cardiff had been semi-regular members of the First Division from the 1920s up to 1962. Eighteen clubs competed in the Welsh Premier League for the 2007–08 season as both Neath Athletic (Welsh Football League Division One) and Llangefni Town (Cymru Alliance) were promoted whilst Cwmbran Town were relegated to Welsh Football League Division One.
[FREE<<] Watch: Cardiff vs Penybont Live Stream 01/07/2023 AAll points accumulated by teams in Phase 1 are brought forward into Phase 2 Phase 2 Phase 2 then runs from MD23 at the start of February through to MD32 at the end of April. Each side plays the other five in their conference twice more, home and away, to bring up a total of thirty-two games played. The side finishing top of the Championship Conference after thirty-two games is the League Champion, and will qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Another English club, Chester City, whose stadium sits on the England–Wales border, applied to join the Welsh Premier League after being expelled from the Football Conference in 2010[3] but were wound up almost immediately afterwards (their successor team, Chester F. C., opted to reapply within the English system). Renewed calls to recruit Welsh teams[edit] Welsh football Teams that currently play in the English football system include: Cardiff City and Swansea City (both in the EFL Championship), Newport County and Wrexham (both EFL League Two), and Merthyr Town (Southern League Premier Division South). Further recruitment[edit] The formation of the League of Wales saw the start of a bitter dispute between the Football Association of Wales (FAW) and those non-League clubs who wanted to remain part of the English football pyramid.
To date six teams have won the title in twenty-six seasons. The Runners-Up in the Championship Conference qualify automatically for the UEFA Europa Conference League, whilst the remaining teams qualify for the end of season European Playoffs. The bottom two sides in the Playoff Conference are relegated. Meanwhile, the side finishing top of the Playoff Conference (seventh place in the league table) advances to the European Playoffs. [7] In June 2009 the clubs voted to accept an alternative proposal to reduce the premier League from 18 clubs to 12 for the 2010–11 season onwards. [8] Current structure[edit] The season is split into two phases, and concludes with an end of season Playoff to determine Wales' fourth European side for the following year.
Phase 1 Phase 1 runs from MD1 in August through to MD22 in mid-January. Each team plays the other sides in the league twice, once at home and once away, making a total of twenty-two games. After the conclusion of Phase 1, the league splits in two, with the top six teams forming the Championship Conference, and the bottom six teams forming the Playoff Conference. In 2008, Wrexham were relegated from the Football League and after an absence of 15 years, returned through automatic promotion at the end of the 2022–23 season. Conversely, in 1996 now-defunct English team Oswestry Town were accepted by the League of Wales and currently The New Saints are based in Oswestry (having moved from Llansantffraid, Powys in 2007).
European Playoffs The five teams finishing in 3rd–7th contest the end of season European Playoffs. 6th host 7th in a Quarter-Final, with the winner travelling to the 3rd placed side for the first Semi-Final, whilst 4th host 5th in the other. The winners then meet at the ground of the highest ranked side in the Final, with the winner qualifying for the UEFA Europa Conference League. If one of the five teams has already qualified for Europe by winning the JD Welsh Cup, then the remaining four sides will contest the Playoffs directly from the Semi-Final stage. If one of the top two sides wins the JD Welsh Cup, then the third placed side will automatically take up a UEFA Europa Conference League spot.