Skip to content
GO TO bet365 Sports
Football
  1. Football
  2. European Football

Welsh League Cup: How Wrexham, Cardiff and Swansea can qualify for Europe

Plans for a revamped 16-team Welsh League Cup which would see Cardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham and Newport County enter the competition have been proposed by the Welsh Football Association.

The FAW are awaiting approval from the FA to enable Wales' Football League clubs to participate in the Welsh League Cup and provide them with a direct route into a European competition.

Under the proposals entitled Prosiect Cymru (Project Wales), the aforementioned Football League clubs would continue to compete in their respective English league and cup competitions but have the additional opportunity of participating in the Welsh League Cup.

Winners of the competition would be granted a place in the UEFA Conference League.

Football

Which teams currently compete in the Welsh League Cup?

First established in 1992, the Welsh League Cup is open to members of the Cymru Premier, Cymru North, Cymru South and a select few other clubs.

In the 2024/25 campaign a total of 48 clubs entered the competition, including the academy sides of Cardiff City, Swansea City and Newport County.

The New Saints are the defending champions having defeated Swansea City U21s in the final.

Proposed Welsh League Cup format

The new Welsh League Cup will consist of 16 teams with four rounds of single-leg knockout matches, starting in the 2025/26 season.

Of the 16 teams, 12 from the Cymru Premier would feature alongside Wales' four Football League clubs.

How would Cardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham or Newport County qualify for Europe?

The winners of the revamped Welsh League Cup will be granted qualification to the UEFA Conference League.

For the Football League clubs, it would be a significantly easier method of securing European qualification than their current options; Swansea were the last Welsh EFL club to appear in Europe after lifting the League Cup trophy in 2013.

However, if all four clubs were to participate in the Welsh League Cup, they would sacrifice their ability to qualify for Europe via an English competition.

Welsh League Cup mission statement

Outlining their vision for the competition, the FAW released a mission statement which highlighted the economical and societal benefits of including the Football League clubs.

They predicted that the new Welsh League Cup would generate a minimum of £3m each season, which would be invested into infrastructure projects, the Cymru Premier and the women's game.

The FAW also suggested that they do not wish to jeopardise the current Football League status of the four clubs and that a thorough review would be undertaken within four years to assess the success of the competition.

EFL clubs have indicated that all profits obtained from participating in the Welsh League Cup and UEFA competitions will not contribute to satisfying financial regulations.

Related Articles

bet365 uses cookies

We use cookies to deliver a better and more personalised service. For more information, see our Cookie Policy

New to bet365? Bet £10 & Get £50 in Free Bets Join Now

Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.