Wales’ four English Football League (EFL) clubs are closing in on a chance to qualify for European football via a revamped Welsh League Cup, as they now only need approval from the Football Association to bring their “game-changing” plan to fruition. .
As BBC Sport Wales revealed last OctoberCardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham and Newport County have worked with the Football Association of Wales (FAW) on “transformational” changes that could see them play in Europe under the Welsh flag for the first time in 30 years.
Under the proposals titled Prosiect Cymru (Project Wales), the four clubs would continue to play league and cup football in England, but would sacrifice their ability to qualify for Europe via English competitions, as has been done Swansea when they played in the Europa League after winning the EFL Cup in 2013.
Welsh EFL clubs’ new route to Europe would be to face 12 teams from the Cymru Premier – Wales’ top flight – in an expanded Welsh League Cup, with the winners qualifying for the Europa Conference League .
The FAW and four EFL clubs have presented their plans to UEFA, the Welsh and UK governments and all Cymru Premier clubs. Now, to get the official green light, they need to get approval from the FA.
On Monday, the FAW outlined its vision for the revamped competition with a mission statement that said:
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The new Welsh League Cup will generate at least £3 million each season which will be invested in “core infrastructure projects, women’s football, Cymru Premier clubs and FAW Tier Two clubs”.
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The four EFL clubs have “agreed to exclude any profit made from the representation of Wales in UEFA competitions in relation to the financial regulations of the English Football League or the English Premier League” .
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All four clubs are “totally committed to playing in the English system” and Prosiect Cymru would not jeopardize their status in the English pyramid.
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The Welsh League Cup will consist of 16 teams with four rounds of single-leg knockout matches, starting in the 2025-26 season.
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The competition will be reviewed after four years “to ensure it delivers the intended benefits to key stakeholders, Welsh football and society, with all options on the table if it does not”.
“This is a game changer for Welsh football”
As well as generating more money for football in Wales and raising the profile of domestic football, the FAW hopes that having EFL clubs represent Wales in European competitions could improve the poor ranking of the country in the UEFA coefficient, currently 49th out of 55.
Welsh teams tend to struggle in Europe, but this season in the Europa Conference League Cymru Premier champions New Saints became the first team from the Welsh pyramid to qualify for the group stage of a major European competition.
The FAW believes that Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport would improve Welsh performance in Europe, winning more UEFA prize money which would then be redistributed to Wales.
Cymru Premier clubs, who would maintain Wales’ path to Champions League and Europa League qualification, are “unanimously” backing Prosiect Cymru and would benefit from cup matches against their EFL rivals.
And for the EFL clubs themselves, there would be the obvious attraction of playing in Europe again, three decades after Wrexham were the last team to qualify via a domestic route when participating in the Cup of the 1995-96 cup winners.
Wales’ EFL clubs qualified via the Welsh Cup and all four achieved notable European results. Cardiff beat Real Madrid in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971, Wrexham beat Porto in the same competition in 1984 and Newport reached the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1981, while Swansea beat Valencia during a Europa League match in 2013.
“This is a game changer for Welsh football,” FAW chief executive Noel Mooney told BBC Sport Wales. “It really changes the income of Welsh football.
“It’s about improving Wales and Welsh football. I have to thank the four top-ranked clubs in the English system for understanding that we need resources. We need better grassroots facilities and investments in women’s football.
“If people oppose that idea, I really think they are holding Wales back. And why would you want to hold Wales back? What would be someone’s motivation to hold Wales back as as a country trying to stand on its own two feet as a football nation?
The fate of Prosiect Cymru now rests in the hands of the FAW’s English counterparts.
The two governing bodies have recently worked together on projects such as the UK and Ireland’s successful bid to host Euro 2028, and Mooney hopes such collaborations will encourage the FA to endorse their plans for the Welsh League Cup.
“We have had some really productive and progressive discussions with UEFA, the Welsh Government, the British Government and the FA,” he added.
“When I was a kid, I guess I thought of them (FA) as, you know, the cigar smoking, wood-paneled rooms and blazers making decisions that maybe suited them. They’ve evolved a lot. The people of the FA is now a truly leading operator.
“They have done a fantastic job modernizing the FA, so they will understand that this is a really good thing for Wales, and they will understand that there is no competitive advantage for the clubs. we spoke to were very positive about the concept.
“So I expect the modern English FA to make the right decision for its neighbors and itself and move things forward. I think you’ll find it’s a win-win for everyone “So to stop us from moving Welsh football forward would be extremely disappointing from the FAW’s point of view, and I think from the point of view of many stakeholders.”
“The opponents want to stop Wales from moving forward”
Prosiect Cymru’s proposals have sparked heated debate since BBC Sport Wales first broke the story last year.
Welsh EFL clubs have unsurprisingly extolled the virtues of the new competitionbut the projects encountered resistance from former Cymru Premier players as well as supporters of some English EFL clubs.
“It’s clearly not about having the cake and eating it too, because they (Welsh EFL clubs) would be giving up on playing in Europe through the English system,” Mooney replied.
“So if you’re an English club playing in the Championship, for example, you can win the Carabao Cup, you can win the FA Cup, you can go to Europe like that. They resign to represent their own country in the European football.
“These are the four biggest cities in Wales. What other country in Europe would withdraw its four biggest cities from playing for them in European competition? This is depriving Wales of tens of millions of pounds, for allow children to play in good facilities,” he added. allow grassroots clubs to emerge, to allow women’s football to reach its full potential. This doesn’t make any sense.
“When something like this happens, there is always someone who will object, for whatever reason. But for us the only possible objection is to deliberately prevent Wales from progressing as a football nation.”
