The Adran Premier (English: Premier Division, formerly the Welsh Premier Women's League), currently known for sponsorship reasons as Genero Adran Premier, is the highest level of league competition for women's football in Wales. Established in 2009, it is organized by the Football Association of Wales and features four semi-professional teams. As of 2024, the league is ranked 48th overall by the UEFA Women's association club coefficients.[1]
 | |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Country |  Wales |
| Other club(s) from |  England (1 team) |
| Confederation | UEFA |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Adran North Adran South |
| Domestic cup(s) | FAW Women's Cup |
| League cup(s) | Adran Trophy |
| International cup(s) | UEFA Women's Champions League |
| Current champions | Cardiff City (3rd title) |
| Most championships | Cardiff Met. (6 titles) Swansea City (6 titles) |
| Website | Adran Premier |
| Current: 2024–25 | |
History
editIn its first three seasons, the league was divided into two Conferences that played a double round robin, with the winner of both contesting a final for the championship. The first season featured no relegation, from the 2010–11 season onwards, the last placed team in each conference got relegated.[2]
Since 2012–13 the league is played in one group only.[3] In 2015–16 two teams were relegated. The eight clubs who formed the League were Aberystwyth Town Ladies, Caernarfon Town Ladies, Llanidloes Ladies, Manorbier Ladies, Newcastle Emlyn Ladies, Swansea City Ladies, UWIC Ladies and Wrexham Women.
The league was increased to five teams per Conference in 2010–11,[4] with Caerphilly Castle Ladies and Trefelin Ladies joining the South and Llandudno Junction Ladies joining the North. Manorbier Ladies ceased playing activities after their inaugural season.[5]
Llandudno Junction's stay in the league lasted just one season before they were relegated; they were replaced by Northop Hall Girls.
In May 2021, the Football Association of Wales announced a restructuring of the league, including cutting the number of teams from nine to eight, splitting the second tier into northern and southern conferences, and the introduction of a U19 development league. The restructuring saw Abergavenny Women's FC, Caerphilly Castle Ladies and Briton Ferry Llansawel Ladies demoted to the second tier, while Barry Town United Ladies FC and The New Saints joined the Premier League.[6] The choice of top-tier teams in the restructuring was met with a significant amount of criticism, as Abergavenny had finished within the top four during the 2020–21 season and The New Saints did not have a complete senior women's side.[7][8] FAW head of women's football Lowri Roberts stood by their decision, adding that "we have to be able to compete with Tier 3 in England. The WSL and Championship in England are professional and semi-professional and we’re a long way off that. It’s unlikely we’ll get to a professional level."[9]
Rebranding
editIn August 2021, the league also announced a rebranding initiative, changing the name from "Welsh Premier Women's League" to "Adran Premier", adopting the Welsh word adran (division). For sponsorship reasons it is named the "Genero Adran Premier" (sponsored by Welsh firm Genero).[10] The second tier conferences were likewise renamed Adran North and Adran South. The rebranding was in part an effort to remove the word "Women's" from the league name to achieve better parity with the men's game. [10] The league cup was likewise rebranded to the Adran Trophy.
Competition format
editThe club with the highest number of points at the end of the season are the League Champions. In the event of two or more clubs having the same number of points the League winners will be decided by the difference between goals scored and goals against. In the event of more than one club having the same goal difference, the club that has scored the highest number of goals will be the Champions.[11]
Promotion and relegation
editOne club may be promoted to the Adran Premier, from Adran North or from Adran South, and the same number relegated out of the first tier. To determine which conference sees a club promoted, the top club from each of the two leagues that meets the other requirements for being in the Premier compete in a playoff.[12]
European qualification
edit| Rank | Association | Coefficient |
|---|---|---|
 47
|
 Moldova
|
5.500 |
 48
|
Wales
|
5.000 |
| 48
|
 Faroe Islands
|
5.000 |
UEFA grants European places to the Football Association of Wales, determined by Wales' position in the UEFA country coefficient rankings. The Welsh Football Association in turn allocates a number of these European places to the final Welsh Premier Women's League positions. As of 2024, Wales was ranked 48th in Europe – granting them one placement in the UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying rounds.
Clubs
edit2024–25
edit
| Club | City | Ground | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth Town | Aberystwyth | Park Avenue | 5,000 |
| Barry Town United | Barry | Jenner Park Stadium | 2,650 |
| Briton Ferry Llansawel A.F.C. Ladies | Briton Ferry | Old Road Ground | 2,000 |
| Cardiff City | Cardiff | Cardiff International Sports Stadium | 4,953 |
| Cardiff Met | Cardiff | Cardiff Met Cyncoed Campus | 1,620 |
| Swansea City | Neath | Llandarcy Academy of Sport | 2,000 |
| The New Saints FC | Oswestry | Park Hall | 3,000 |
| Wrexham | Wrexham | The Rock | 3,000 |
List of champions
editIn the first three seasons, a final between the north and south division winners determined the champion.
| Season | Champion | Runners-up | Third place | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Swansea City | Caernarfon Town | N/a (Final: 4–0) | |
| 2010–11 | Swansea City | Caernarfon Town | N/a (Final: 3–1) | |
| 2011–12 | Cardiff Met | Wrexham | N/a (Final: 3–0) | |
| 2012–13 | Cardiff City | Cardiff Met | Wrexham | |
| 2013–14 | Cardiff Met | Abergavenny Town | Cardiff City | |
| 2014–15 | Cardiff Met | Swansea City | Abergavenny Town | |
| 2015–16 | Cardiff Met | Swansea City | Cardiff City | |
| 2016–17 | Swansea City | Cardiff Met | Cardiff City | [13] |
| 2017–18 | Cardiff Met | Swansea City | Abergavenny Town | [14] |
| 2018–19 | Cardiff Met | Swansea City | Cardiff City | [15] |
| 2019–20 | Swansea City | Cardiff Met | Cardiff City | [16] |
| 2020–21 | Swansea City | Cardiff Met | Cardiff City | [17] |
| 2021–22 | Swansea City | Cardiff Met | Cardiff City | [18] |
| 2022–23 | Cardiff City | Swansea City | Cardiff Met | [19] |
| 2023–24 | Cardiff City | Swansea City | Wrexham | [20] |
| Titles | Team |
|---|---|
| 6 | Cardiff Met |
| 6 | Swansea City |
| 3 | Cardiff City |
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Women's association club coefficients". UEFA. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ "Aberystwyth Town FC: Ladies News". Archived from the original on 2010-09-11. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
- ^ "Wrexham Odds on for Play-off place". shekicks.net. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Tenby Observer (15 October 2010). "Manorbier Ladies call it a day".
- ^ "Women's football: FAW announce the make-up of new tiers – BBC Sport". Bbc.com. 2021-05-31. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Abergavenny condemns FAW restructure of Welsh women's football". The National Wales. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Welsh Premier Women's League shake-up 'unjust and wrong', say relegated clubs – BBC News". BBC News. June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "FAW chief Lowri Roberts responds to restructuring outcry". The National Wales. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ a b "Launch of Genero Adran Leagues marks new era for domestic football in Wales" (Press release). Cymru Football. 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Welsh Premier Women's League 2018/19 Rules" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "Genero Adran Leagues and Adran Trophy competition formats confirmed for 2022/23". Adran Leagues. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Net draw hands Swansea Welsh title". shekicks.net. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ "#WPWL: Cardiff Met secure title for fifth time". shekicks.net. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
- ^ "Summary – Welsh Premier Women's League – Wales – Results, fixtures, tables and news". Women Soccerway. 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ "Summary – Welsh Premier Women's League – Wales – Results, fixtures, tables and news – Women Soccerway". int.women.soccerway.com. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Summary – Welsh Premier Women's League – Wales – Results, fixtures, tables and news – Women Soccerway". Swansea City. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ "Season in review 2020-21 Swansea City Ladies". Swansea City. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ "City secure the 2022/23 Adran Premier title". Cardiff. 26 March 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "Cardiff City FC Women 23/24 Season in Review". Cardiff. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.