Shake up of Ladies game in Wales brings much anger and reaction

Tuesday, 1 June 2021, 9:15
1 min read

The proposed restructure of the WPWL has bought some strong reactions after it was announced yesterday that Abergavenny Women, Briton Ferry Llansawel and Cascade Ladies had all been demoted from the WPWL.

The trio will now all play in the FAW’s new Tier Two division next season being joined by Caldicot Town, Cardiff Bluebelles, Merthyr Town, Talycopa and Swansea University in the Southern section.

Barry Town United and The New Saints were promoted to the top tier as a result of the demotion.

The new pyramid structure sees three divisions of eight with one top-flight league and two regional divisions.

In the North, Wrexham Women, who will receiveย ยฃ50,000ย from their high-profile owners, have received a place in Tier Two.

They will be joined by Airbus UK Broughton, Bethel Ladies, Connahโ€™s Quay, Denbigh, Llandudno, Llanfair, Pwllheli, and Wrexham.

As well as competing in the league structure, all 24 clubs will come together to play in a newly formatted League Cup which will include second-tier clubs for the first time.

WPWL Club Representative on FAW Council, Gail Powell, said: โ€œThe new structure will have a major impact on development and sustainability and weย are looking forward to the new season in 2021/22 with a new look Tier 1, Tier 2 and U19s divisions.โ€

Lowri Roberts, FAWโ€™s Head of Womenโ€™s Football, said: โ€œItโ€™s been inspiring to see the level of work clubs have put into their application. Weโ€™ve seen a real shift in mindset from the clubs in how they are developing elite environments for players and how they are building for a sustainable future.”

Andrew Howard, FAW Head of Competitions, added: โ€œThroughout this process we have seen clubs securing significant investment into their womenโ€™s programmes and strong commitments in terms of resources being made available within the clubs, from appointing full time staff to long term partnership agreements. Clubs should be very proud of what they have achieved off the field over the last year and we look forward to this exciting new chapter for womenโ€™s domestic football in Wales.โ€

Swansea City Ladies were league and cup winners this season.

It was no surprise to see very much a mixed reaction to the announcement with those demoted clearly angry at the decision made

Whilst as you expect there was positives from the two sides admitted into the top tier with both Barry Town and The New Saints tweeting their news

You can expect the fall out from this announcement to rumble on during the course of the summer and can certainly understand the frustration of the demoted clubs who will naturally feel that decisions should be taken on the pitch and not in the boardroom.

 

Images courtesy of Getty Images, Athena Picture Agency and Swansea City Football Club.

Phil Sumbler

Been watching the Swans since the very late 1970s and running the Planet Swans website (in all its current and previous guises since the summer of 2001 As it stood JackArmy.net was right at the forefront of some of the activity against Tony Petty back in 2001, breaking many of the stories of the day as fans stood against the actions where the local media failed. Was involved with the Swans Supporters Trust from 2005, for the large part as Chairman before standing down in the summer of 2020.

League Table

Next Up

Forum Latest

Threads: 18,888

Messages: 264,299

Members: 4,699

Latest member: Scro

Next Up

League Table

Last 6 Results

Latest from Blog

Swans TV: ลฝan Vipotnik on Oxford United | Reaction

. . .ลฝan Vipotnik talks to Swans TV following Swans' Championship clash against Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium. For more information, as well as all the latest Swansea City AFC news, log onto the club's official website at http://www.swanseacity.com Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SWANSPLAYER Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SwanseaCityFC Follow…

Swans TV: Oxford United v Swansea City | Highlights

. . .watch some of the key moments from the Swans' Championship clash against Oxford at the Kassam Stadium. For more information, as well as all the latest Swansea City AFC news, log onto the club's official website at http://www.swanseacity.com Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SWANSPLAYER Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SwanseaCityFC Follow…

Swans TV: Oxford United v Swansea City | Extended Highlights

. . .watch all of the key moments from the Swans' Championship clash against Oxford at the Kassam Stadium. For more information, as well as all the latest Swansea City AFC news, log onto the club's official website at http://www.swanseacity.com Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SWANSPLAYER Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SwanseaCityFC Follow…

Swans TV: Luke Williams on Oxford United | Reaction

. . .Luke Williams talks to Swans TV following his side's Championship clash against Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium. For more information, as well as all the latest Swansea City AFC news, log onto the club's official website at http://www.swanseacity.com Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SWANSPLAYER Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SwanseaCityFC…

Don't Miss

In the end it came to penalties – but it’s more than one thing that never changes

So that was the tournament that was Euro 2020.ย  ย For

Connor: Only 1% want us to win

Wales will tomorrow evening go in search of their second