| Founded | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Abolished | 2008 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Last champions | Newport County |
| Most championships | Wrexham (5 titles) |
TheFAW Premier Cup (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was aWelshfootball cup competition, organised annually by theFootball Association of Wales from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing inEnglish leagues (including six Welsh clubs) from playing in theWelsh Cup from 1996 onwards, the FAW needed another competition where the best Welsh teams could compete.
The original format incorporated the three Welsh clubs then playing in theFootball League (Cardiff City,Swansea City andWrexham) along withMerthyr Tydfil and four League of Wales clubs (now theCymru Premier). Until the 2001–02 season, Merthyr Tydfil had a guaranteed place, asNewport County andColwyn Bay were not invited to take part. From then onwards, the highest placed of the three were invited. Colwyn Bay never subsequently qualified.
From the 2004–05 season, the competition was expanded to 16 clubs – the top 10 placed clubs from theWelsh Premier League, joined by the two best-placed of the three teams: Newport County, Merthyr Tydfil and Colwyn Bay, theWelsh Cup winners plus Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham.
The competition offered a healthy prize fund. A share of the TV coverage money for live matches was also split between both clubs. The losing semi-final teams each received £25,000. The losing finalists received £50,000, with the winners receiving £100,000.[1][2]
The competition's most senior clubs were accused of taking the competition lightly. Cardiff City in particular, following the arrival of ambitious ownerSam Hammam enjoyed relative success in theFootball League but Cardiff City won the FAW Premier Cup just once, beating arch-rivals Swansea City in the 2002 final.
Wrexham appeared in all but three finals. The onlyWelsh Premier League clubs to have played in the final are Barry Town, Rhyl, The New Saints and Llanelli. The 2007 final was the first final not to include one of the English Football League clubs. In the last final, on 11 March 2008,Newport County beatLlanelli at Newport Stadium.
The FAW Premier Cup was broadcast onBBC Wales. However, after BBC Wales withdrew their sponsorship of the competition in 2008, the competition was cancelled.[3]
In the 2011–12 season the FAW announced that the six exiled clubs would again be invited to play in the Welsh Cup.Merthyr Town,Newport County andWrexham all accepted butCardiff City,Colwyn Bay andSwansea City rejected the invitation. However, becauseUEFA refused to give any of these clubs entry into theEuropa League by this route, these clubs did not enter the Welsh Cup in the following season.
| Rank | Club | Appearances | Winners | Runners-up | Winning year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wrexham | 11 | 5 | 3 | 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04 |
| 2 | Swansea City | 11 | 2 | 2 | 2004–05, 2005–06 |
| 3 | Cardiff City | 11 | 1 | 2 | 2001–02 |
| Newport County | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2007–08 | |
| 5 | Barry Town | 7 | 1 | – | 1998–99 |
| The New Saints | 9 | 1 | – | 2006–07 | |
| 7 | Rhyl | 8 | – | 1 | |
| Llanelli | 3 | – | 1 |
| Seasons | |
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| Finals | |
| United Kingdom |
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| England | |
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| Wales | |
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