Why Do Some Welsh Teams Play in English Leagues?
There is no question that the Premier League is the one of the biggest football divisions in world football, with the Championship not far behind it. Though teams based in Germany, Spain and France have to make to with trying to prove themselves against the top English sides in the Champions League, the same isn’t true of sides based in Wales. In spite of the existence of Cymru Premier, which you can read about in more detail elsewhere on this site, there are still some teams that choose to play in England rather than play against fellow Welsh sides.
The most famous names on that front are Cardiff City and Swansea City, largely thanks to the fact that they have both played in the Premier League at various times. Though most people weren’t familiar with Wrexham before they were taken over by Hollywood stars, the purchase of the club by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and the subsequent documentary that appeared on Disney Plus means that Wrexham are now well-known outside of Wales too. The question is, why is it that some Welsh teams choose to play in England rather than the country they are based in?
Welsh Football Didn’t Have A League Until The 1990s
For many in Wales, rugby union has long been the most dominant sport. It was the one that most people wanted to take part in, with few people actively choosing to play football during the more formative years of the two sports. This is in spite of the fact that Football Association Wales was created in 1876, merely three years after the English FA had been created. It was largely due to the fact that football was mostly centred around Wrexham in the early years, with most teams limited in the games that they could play to the Welsh Cup, with no league system in place.
Part of the problem for Welsh teams in the early years of the sport was that transport between north and south Wales was all but non-existent. It was far easier for teams to arrange to play games against English opponents than it was for them to play their fellow Welsh sides. Wrexham played in the Birmingham and District League, for example, whilst Swansea City and Newport County played in the Southern Leagues. This continued to be the case for the most successful of the Welsh clubs for many years, meaning that it was an established practice by 1992.
That was the year in which the General Secretary of the Football Association Wales decided to launch a new league for the country. It was the first time that the Welsh FA had taken on responsibility for a league competition, having previous been limited to the Welsh Cup. It was done in order to stave off the resentfulness of some other countries over the fact that the Welsh FA, as with the Irish and Scottish Football Associations and the Football Association, had a permanent seat on the International Football Association Board. It launched in time for the 1992-1993 campaign.
It’s All About Tradition
When Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County, Merthyr Town and Wrexham were formed, the idea of a football league in Wales was nothing but a distant dream. As a result, the clubs were granted permission to play in the English football league pyramid, which became set in stone in the years that followed. Given that Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Merthyr all joined the new English Football League 1920/21, and Wrexham followed suit the year after, it is fair to say that it has become something of a tradition for these sides to ply their trade in the English game rather than take on fellow Welsh sides in the Cymru Premier.
| Club | Joined English Leagues | Joined English Football League |
|---|---|---|
| Wrexham | 1890/91 (Combination League) | 1921/22 (Third Division North) |
| Merthyr Town | 1909/10 (Southern League Division Two A) | 1920/21 (Third Division) |
| Cardiff City | 1910/11 (Southern League Division Two) | 1920/21 (Second Division) |
| Swansea City | 1912/13 (Southern League Division Two) | 1920/21 (Third Division) |
| Newport County | 1912/13 (Southern League Division Two) | 1920/21 (Third Division) |
Though Newport County haven’t enjoyed the success of those to sides, never having made it to the Premier League for example, the side has also become an established team in the English football league system. Neither Merthyr Town nor Wrexham have enjoyed particular success in England, but the two clubs have still played in the English league ever since their creation and therefore continue to do so now. Since the takeover of Wrexham by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham has become world famous and will continue to try to make its way up the English pyramid rather than play in Wales.
Welsh Teams In England
There are five teams that play their games in the English football pyramid. Cardiff City actually joined the Southern Football League initially, but joined the Football League in 1920 and have remained a part of it ever since. The Bluebirds won the FA Cup in 1927, becoming the first, and currently only, Welsh side to win the famous trophy. The club also finished second in the First Division in the 1920s, proving that it was possible for a side from outside of England to compete for the top-flight in the division’s more formative years. Cardiff have also played in the Premier League for a few seasons.
Another club that has played in the Premier League is Swansea City. Perhaps it was inevitable that that would happen when you consider the rivalry between Cardiff and Swansea as cities. The Swans first played in the top-flight in 1981, but a host of injuries stopped them from challenging for the title. They finally made it to the Premier League for the first time in 2011, becoming an established side and following in Cardiff’s footsteps by winning an English trophy when they defeated Bradford City 5-0 in the League Cup final in 2013 before slipping back to the Championship a few years later.
There has been less success for Newport County since the side joined the Football League in the 1920s. The side actually went out of business in 1989, needing to be re-formed and playing their games in the non-league system for some time. The club received a shot in the arm when it moved to Rodney Parade, getting back into the Football League in 2013. The side has never played in the English top-flight in any form, but certainly not since it became the Premier League in 1992, which was the point at which Cymru Premier was launched in Wales.
Arguably the most famous club in Wales on a global scale is Wrexham. That would have been inconceivable a thing to say a few years ago, but then it was bought out by Hollywood royalty in the form of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and everything changed. That is deserved in many ways, when you consider that Wrexham was the home of Welsh football for a long time. As with Newport County, Wrexham have never played in the English top-flight, but whether that changes in the years that follow thanks to the Red Dragons’ new owners remains to be seen.
The final Welsh club that plays in England is Merthyr Town. Despite holding firm in its desire to play in the English football league system, Merthyr Town has actually folded twice in the years since its formation. Merthyr Tydfil was liquidated in 2010, having been formed in 1945 after Merthyr was folded in 1934. Another reformation was needed, which was when Merthyr Town came about. The club has struggled to establish itself in the Football League in any meaningful way, mostly playing lower league football and facing calls to be forced to join the Welsh system.
English Clubs Playing In Wales
Just as Welsh clubs have played in England over the years, so too have some English clubs ended up playing in Wales. The most well-known of the clubs that are based in England but play in Wales is The New Saints, also known as TNS. Based in the border town of Llanymynech, they actually play in a ground that is located on the English side of the village. A merger with the English side Oswestry Town helped the club to become one of the biggest in Wales, which has been reflected in regular success in Cymru Wales and numerous attempts to make it past the first qualifying round of the Champions League.
Chester City is a club with a complicated history. Chester FC was founded in 1885 and played in the Football League, with Chester’s club in its numerous forms long playing in England. What makes the entire thing interesting is that Chester’s pitch and stand are all located in Wales. During the Covid-19 pandemic, English clubs were allowed supporters in but Welsh ones weren’t. This led to Chester being issued with fines when fans attended games, contrary to the rules and regulations imposed by the Welsh government. In other words, life on the border between two countries is, somewhat unsurprisingly, complicated.