Following on from the traditional high point of the domestic calendar that is the FA Cup third round and the following rounds, you might have missed the ongoing debate around its Welsh equivalent and the potential for Cardiff, Swansea, Merthyr Town, Newport and Wrexham to re- enter as part of a shake-up, after originally being barred for not being part of the Welsh league system circa 1996. If you're wondering why Colwyn Bay aren't in that list, their application to return to the league of their fathers was approved in 2019 having spent time in the English non- league pyramid.
Up until a year prior to that 1996 ruling, teams on the Welsh border had been invited to compete- Chester, Crewe, Hereford and Shrewsbury among those to benefit most regularly. Bristol City won the 1933/34 final in their sole appearance with a 3-0 win over Tranmere following a replay, the first game having finished 1-1 in what was the first all-English showpiece!
The Shrews remain the most successful non-English side in the history of the tournament with six wins, most recently in 1984-85, although quite a way off Wrexham's 23! And should the Welsh FA's proposals, as announced on January 13th this year, come to fruition, there may well be more, with the carrot of a UEFA Conference League spot for the winners...
However, while the FA of Wales remains committed to Prosiect Cymru (Project Wales), should even one of the clubs commit to sacrificing their right to attempt to qualify for Europe via English means, it would mean giving up the right to doing so via a Premier League, EFL or FA Cup place. Swansea of course won the 2013 EFL Cup with victory over Bradford as well as having graced the Premier League, as did Cardiff who also remain the only Welsh team to win the English FA Cup after beating Arsenal in the 1927 final, plus they were losing finalists against Portsmouth in 2008.
It is speculated that the clubs themselves don't want to do anything which would endanger their places within England's league system, while broadly speaking remaining supportive to what is being presented as an attempt to "drive improvement for the whole Welsh football ecosystem" by its governing body. With promises that "financial gains will be redistributed in a manner that lifts grassroots, domestic Welsh clubs and the women’s game."
Which of course sounds decent enough on paper! And should the Exiles and Dragons opt to make a return, there is in a sense a precedent, as they accepted an offer to play in the 125th anniversary season edition (2011-12), whilst Swansea, Cardiff and Colwyn Bay abstained. Though even if either club had won the cup, UEFA would've banned them from the prize of a place in the Europa League's first qualifying round! As it was, only Newport got anywhere near close enough- losing 4-0 to the New Saints in the fourth round, Wrexham having gone out to Airbus UK after extra time in round three and TNS ultimately tasted victory in the final as they beat Cefn Druids 2-0.
As early as October 1st last year BBC Sport Wales was reporting that the country's EFL clubs were in talks about returning to the green green grass of home to try again and weighing up the pros and cons of allowing them to do so. It would seem that a big motivator as they saw it was a boost to the FAW's coffers on top of a hoped-for rise in attention paid to the domestic game-
“For clubs based in the Welsh pyramid who are already playing in the Cymru Premier or below, the positive aspect of the English-based clubs joining the League Cup is fairly simple, it comes down to money.
In a league where many clubs are still semi-professional, the allure of the likes of Cardiff and Swansea City is obvious with the clubs enjoying large fan followings.
Any side who drew one of the four English-based clubs would potentially be looking at a money-spinning tie, with more eyes on the fixture than for a usual league game.”
Broadly speaking then, the sort of thing which has most English lower/ non-league teams still in the FA Cup by the third round salivating, and understandably so.
Then again, would this also have the considerable con of actually making it more difficult for any Cymru Premier club to qualify for Europe? Swansea are said to be driving the discussions around the opportunity for themselves and their fellow Football League members to be allowed to represent Wales on the continent, the ten-time Welsh Cup winners' stint in the 2013-14 Europa League having ended in the last 32 after going down 3-1 at home to Napoli. They had finished second in Group A behind Valencia, eight points enough to get them over the line in the group stage as they finished above Kuban Krasnodar and St Gallen.
And while those days may feel like a lifetime ago for Swans fans, there's probably shorter odds on a repeat should they enter the Welsh Cup, with the chance of doing more harm than good to the domestic game...
“ In a world where most of the players are semi-professional, the entrance of four fully professional sides is likely to see opportunities to win the League Cup and qualify for the Europa Conference League diminish for the clubs who are currently eligible to compete.
The Cymru League Cup does not currently offer a European place, meaning a further hurdle would need to be overcome should a new competition be introduced.
The flip-side of the coin will mean that more revenue and attention would be the increased competitive levels with Welsh-based clubs other than Cymru Premier champions The New Saints unlikely to be able to regularly beat their cross-border rivals.”
Swansea chairman Andy Coleman moved to bat aside these and similar concerns by stressing this wasn't purely about money for his club and indeed Cardiff or Newport-
"The important thing to note is that this was structured very intentionally in a way not to give any of the Welsh-based EFL clubs a financial advantage.
This is meant to be a level playing field for all as we do this, with just good intentions about improving the system in Wales.
“We've given the FA board a tap-in. This is a really good opportunity to show that football can take care of football and make common sense decisions for ourselves that strengthen the game."
Though cynics may beg to differ, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that any decision on the part they play in the proposed revision of the Welsh Cup will be purely in the interests of the FAW and EFL, as opposed to the domestic game it's being presented as a massive potential benefit to.
All of which is now a moot point, as the FAW's plan has been voted down by the EFL following concerns from other member clubs. At the same time Merthyr rejected overtures from the Cymru Premier - an offer of potentially around £6 million in financial incentives - in favour of remaining part of England's non-league system". Back to the drawing board?