Welsh Premier Women's League shake-up 'unjust and wrong', say relegated clubs

Abergavenny players protest against the "unfair" decision

The football team that finished fourth in the women's Welsh top flight has criticised the decision to relegate them as part of a league restructure.

Abergavenny Women's FC is one of three Welsh Premier Women's League (WPWL) sides to be removed as the division is cut from nine to eight.

Monmouth MP David Davies urged the Football Association of Wales (FAW) to reconsider the "inexplicable" decision.

The FAW said it sympathised, but the application process had been "robust".

Under the move announced on Monday, Abergavenny, Caerphilly's Cascade Ladies YC and Briton Ferry Llansawel Ladies will all drop to the second-tier competition.

In contrast, Barry Town United Ladies FC will join the top flight, as will The New Saints, who are actively recruiting for players after splitting from their women's team last year.

There is anger among some that well-established teams have been replaced with one that does not yet exist.

Abergavenny captain Ceri Hudson has been at the club for a decade

Abergavenny's manager said they had been left disheartened and disillusioned after securing fourth spot in their final game of the season. Craig Morgan-Hill said he feared some players would walk away from the game.

"They've given it their all. They beat Cardiff City 4-0, but they're not good enough. What can they do?" said the former Manchester City academy player.

The WPWL is the top flight of the domestic game and is organised by the FAW.

It includes Swansea City, Cardiff City and Cardiff Met, with the winners qualifying for the prestigious Uefa Women's Champions League.

The league below, Tier 2, is to be split between northern and southern leagues, supported but not run by the governing body.

The changes are part of the FAW's wider women and girls football strategy to strengthen the domestic game in Wales and improve player pathways, in the hope fewer drop out.

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However Abergavenny captain Ceri Hudson said everyone at the club felt "deflated".

The 28-year-old, who has been at the club for 10 years, said the decision had affected the team's mental health, especially as they are "not being judged on merit", and was worried players would leave.

That is a particular concern for the town's MP, Mr Davies, who has written to the FAW questioning the decision to have no teams from the former Gwent area in the league.

He said it was "inexplicable and completely unfair", adding that removing a team for bureaucratic reasons instead of performance "flies in the face of a level playing field for sport".

Those concerns were shared in a statement from Cascade YC Ladies who compared the changes to the controversial plans behind the failed men's European Super League.

"Healthy competition should be the only deciding factor when teams have satisfied the requirements for the league and not the size of the club or the whim of those making the decisions," the club added.

Briton Ferry Llansawel Ladies FC also described the decision as "unjust, ethically wrong and discriminatory".

The club said it had "serious questions about the levels of due diligence and fairness" of the FAW's application process.

"It will have, in some cases, an irreparable impact on our community and our ability to provide opportunities to young players and coaches," the club said in a statement.

Andy Williams, head of women and girls football for The New Saints in Oswestry, said he understood why teams might feel aggrieved.

But he said TNS, whose men's side has won the Cymru Premier 13 times, were "not riding roughshod over anyone" and had taken part in a fair and independent application process.

The headteacher, who is taking up a full-time position at the club, said he had "ambitious" plans for building on the existing grassroots girl's football at the club.

"We want those players to have a clear pathway into our first team," he said.

Mr Williams said he wanted to use the existing resources at the club to develop an elite performance centre which would include medical cover, strength and conditioning facilities and match analysis for female players.

The head of women's football at the FAW, Lowri Roberts, said she sympathised with the clubs involved but said the restructure was about the development of the women's game at large in Wales.

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Ms Roberts said international governing body Fifa had advised them on the year-long process, and they had offered support and feedback to clubs throughout.

"We have spent an awful long time communicating this process with the clubs that it wasn't all on sporting merit," she said.

The FAW has appointed a development manager to work with Tier 2 clubs as well as the under-19s league.

"This is the starting point for the 21-22 season... there will be promotion and relegation so it might just be one season for them," she said.

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