TheCymru Premier is anassociation football league based in Wales. Formed in 1992 as the League of Wales, it was the first national football league in the country.[1] The competition changed its name to the Welsh Premier League in 2002 and then to the Cymru Premier in 2019. In its inaugural season 20 teams played in the league, but it has been restructured since and has 12 member clubs in the2024–25 season. Although it is the highest level of theWelsh football league system, the Welsh Premier League does not include the country's four largest professional clubs,Cardiff City,Swansea City,Wrexham andNewport County; for historical reasons these clubs all play within theEnglish league system.[2] As of 2024,The New Saints, who have played inOswestry in England since 2005,[3] are the only full-time professional team in the league.[4] Many of the clubs that have played in the league were founded in the 19th century and spent a century or more playing in regional leagues before the creation of the League of Wales in 1992.
Since its formation, 42 clubs have taken part in the league. The only clubs to have played in the league in every season since it was formed areAberystwyth Town andNewtown. Conversely two other founder members,Abergavenny Thursdays andLlanidloes Town, were relegated at the end of the league's inaugural season and have never returned. Two other clubs,Llangefni Town andCardiff Grange Harlequins, have spent only a single season in the league. The most recent team to make its debut in the league wasColwyn Bay, who gained promotion to the league for the first time in 2023. A system ofpromotion and relegation exists between the Cymru Premier and the two regional leagues at the second level of the Welsh league system, theCymru North in the northern half of the country and theCymru South in the southern half.[5]
The table shows the first and most recent season in which each club competed in the league up to and including the2023–24 season. Some clubs' membership was intermittent between their first and last season. The name shown for each club is the most recent, and the table is initially sorted in alphabetical order of these names. Any other names under which the club played in the league are shown in footnotes. A dagger symbol (†) indicates that the club was a founder member of the league.
| Club | Founded | First season | Most recent season | Total seasons | Best finish | Times champions | 2023–24 status | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abergavenny Thursdays † | 1927 | 1992–93 | 1992–93 | 1 | 20th | – | Defunct; folded in 2013 | [6][7] |
| Aberystwyth Town † | 1884 | 1992–93 | 2023–24 | 32 | 4th | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [8] |
| Afan Lido † | 1967 | 1992–93 | 2013–14 | 14 | 2nd | – | Playing inCymru South | [9] |
| Airbus UK Broughton[nb1] | 1946 | 2004–05 | 2022–23 | 15 | 2nd | – | Playing in Cymru North | [10][11] |
| Bala Town | 1880 | 2009–10 | 2023–24 | 15 | 2nd | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [12] |
| Bangor City † | 1876 | 1992–93 | 2017–18 | 26 | 1st | 3 | Inactive | [13] |
| Barry Town United | 1912 | 1994–95 | 2023–24 | 15 | 1st | 7 | Playing in Cymru Premier | [14][15][16] |
| Briton Ferry Athletic † | 1925 | 1992–93 | 1996–97 | 4 | 17th | – | Merged withLlansawel in 2009 to formBriton Ferry Llansawel | [17] |
| Caernarfon Town | 1937 | 1995–96 | 2023–24 | 19 | 5th | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [18] |
| Caersws † | 1887 | 1992–93 | 2009–10 | 18 | 4th | – | Playing inCymru North | [19] |
| Cardiff Grange Harlequins | 1935 | 2005–06 | 2005–06 | 1 | 18th | – | Defunct; folded in 2015 | [20] |
| Cardiff Metropolitan University †[nb10] | 2000 | 1992–93 | 2023–24 | 17 | 2nd | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [21][22][23][24][25] |
| Carmarthen Town | 1950 | 1996–97 | 2019–20 | 24 | 3rd | – | Playing in Cymru South | [26] |
| Cefn Druids[nb3] | 1872 | 1999–2000 | 2021–22 | 18 | 5th | – | Inactive | [27][28][29][30] |
| Cemaes Bay[nb2] | 1976 | 1995–96 | 1997–98 | 3 | 12th | – | Playing inNorth Wales Coast West Football League | [31][32] |
| Colwyn Bay | 1881 | 2023–24 | 2023–24 | 1 | – | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [33] |
| Connah's Quay Nomads †[nb4] | 1946 | 1992–93 | 2023–24 | 30 | 1st | 1 | Playing in Cymru Premier | [34][35] |
| Conwy Borough † | 1977 | 1992–93 | 1999–2000 | 8 | 3rd | – | Playing inArdal NW | [36] |
| Cwmbran Town † | 1951 | 1992–93 | 2006–07 | 15 | 1st | 1 | Playing inGwent County League Premier Division | [37] |
| Ebbw Vale † | 1888 | 1992–93 | 1997–98 | 6 | 3rd | – | Defunct; folded in 1998 | [38] |
| Flint Town United † | 1886 | 1992–93 | 2022–23 | 8 | 4th | – | Playing inCymru North | [39] |
| Haverfordwest County † | 1899 | 1992–93 | 2023–24 | 20 | 2nd | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [40] |
| Holywell Town † | 1880 | 1992–93 | 1998–99 | 6 | 5th | – | Playing inCymru North | [41] |
| Llandudno[nb5] | 1878 | 2015–16 | 2018–19 | 4 | 3rd | – | Playing inCymru North | [42] |
| Llanelli Town † | 1896 | 1992–93 | 2018–19 | 18 | 1st | 1 | Playing inCymru South | [43][44][45] |
| Llangefni Town | 1897 | 2007–08 | 2007–08 | 1 | 18th | – | Playing inArdal NW | [46] |
| Llanidloes Town † | 1875 | 1992–93 | 1992–93 | 1 | 19th | – | Playing inCymru North | [47] |
| Maesteg Park Athletic † | 1945 | 1992–93 | 1994–95 | 3 | 15th | – | Defunct; folded in 2010 | [48] |
| Mold Alexandra † | 1929 | 1992–93 | 1994–95 | 3 | 13th | – | Playing inCymru North | [49] |
| Neath[nb6] | 1922 | 2007–08 | 2011–12 | 5 | 3rd | – | Defunct; folded in 2012 | [50][51][52] |
| The New Saints[nb9] | 1959 | 1993–94 | 2023–24 | 31 | 1st | 13 | Playing in Cymru Premier | [53][54][55] |
| Newtown † | 1875 | 1992–93 | 2023–24 | 32 | 2nd | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [56] |
| Oswestry Town | 2003 | 2000–01 | 2002–03 | 3 | 15th | – | Merged with The New Saints in 2003 | [57] |
| Penybont | 2013 | 2019–20 | 2023–24 | 4 | 3rd | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [58] |
| Pontypridd United | 1992 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2 | 8th | – | Playing in Cymru Premier | [59] |
| Port Talbot Town[nb7] | 1901 | 2000–01 | 2015–16 | 16 | 3rd | – | Playing inArdal SW | [60][61] |
| Porthmadog † | 1884 | 1992–93 | 2009–10 | 13 | 9th | – | Playing inCymru North | [62] |
| Prestatyn Town | 1910 | 2008–09 | 2014–15 | 7 | 5th | – | Playing inCymru North | [63] |
| Rhayader Town | 2007 | 1997–98 | 2001–02 | 5 | 12th | – | Playing inCentral Wales Football League Southern Division | [64] |
| Rhyl | 1878 | 1994–95 | 2016–17 | 20 | 1st | 2 | Defunct; folded in 2020 | [65] |
| Welshpool Town[nb8] | 1877 | 1996–97 | 2009–10 | 10 | 4th | – | Playing inArdal NE | [66][67] |
| Ton Pentre | 1896 | 1993–94 | 1996–97 | 4 | 3rd | – | Playing inSouth Wales Alliance League Premier Division | [68] |