You are here: Home » News » Welsh Women Kick-Off
Welsh Women Kick-Off
Posted by Sam (Sub-Editor) from Cardiff - Published on 06/10/2009 at 00:00
The Premier League has come to Wales! Last month the inaugural Welsh Premier Women’s Football League (which just rolls of the tongue) kicked off to some fanfare in Aberystwyth.
Set up some seventeen years after the equivalent men’s league, the reasons behind the decision to start a premier league are pretty much the same.
Wales was one of the last countries in Europe to instigate a top-flight league, the reasons being the distances between teams, with clusters in the valleys and in the north east, the proximity to a superior league in England and the tradition of Welsh clubs and players hopping over the border to play in England.
The last two points go someway to explaining the absence of one high profile name in the eight teams lined up in the Welsh Premier Women’s Football League.
Instead they will continue to play in FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division and jeopardise their chance to play European football.
Previously the winners of the Welsh Cup (which Cardiff City LFC were eligible for) went on to European competition, but now that spot will given to the Welsh League winners.
The Football Association of Wales hopes that a top-flight league in Wales will increase the standard of women’s football in Wales and aid the national team, currently ranked 29th in Europe.
For info on sporting organisations operating in Cardiff, check out our directory.
