Welsh Premier League Cynghrair Bel Droid Cymru 2011 - 2012
Inaugurated in 1992-93 as the League of Wales, the WPL is the national competition for Welsh clubs. Due to poor north-south transport links and the long tradition of the strongest Welsh teams playing in English leagues, the WPL has failed to attract sides from the major population centres of Cardiff, Swansea, Newport and Wrexham whose professional teams continue to play in the English pyramid.
Like the Scottish Premier League, the WPL splits mid-season and the top six clubs play off in the Championship Conference while the remainder fight it out to avoid relegation. The champions compete in the UEFA Champions League while the second placed team enters the Europa League. The Welsh Cup winners also qualify and the teams finishing 3rd to 6th play off for the remaining spot.
The WPL is fed by two regional leagues, the Cymru Alliance in the north and the Welsh Football League Division One in the south. Promotion is not automatic: the regional champions must submit an application, have a stadium that meets WPL standards and a domestic license granted by the FA of Wales. If the regional champions decline to apply the second placed club(s) may do so instead.
| 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015 |
The WPL logo is the property of the Welsh Premier League. Crests are the property of the respective clubs.
Formed in 1884, the Green and Blacks were founder members of the League of Wales and are firmly established as one of the top sides in mid-Wales. A victory in their final game ensured the threat of relegation was avoided and then, because of the decision to relegate Neath, Aberystwyth found themselves in the Europa League play-offs.
Afan Lido play at the Marston Stadium in Aberavon on the south Wales coast less than half a mile from their WPL rivals, Port Talbot Town. The club was formed in 1967 by the management team of the newly opened Lido Sports Centre to offer patrons the chance to play in the local Port Talbot & District League.
Originally the works team of the Vickers-Armstrong aircraft works, their name has evolved as their parent company changed hands down the years. They became Airbus UK in 2000 after winning promotion to the Cymru Alliance. "Broughton," the village they play in (a few miles from Chester) was added in 2007. They have been in the Premier League since 2004 and their appropriately named ground, The Airfield, has retractable floodlights so as not to interfere with the runway next door.
The Lakesiders have played at Maes Tegid in the charming Gwynedd town of Bala since the mid-fifties. Over the past 15 years they have worked their way up the Welsh pyramid, enclosed their ground, installed floodlights and turned semi-professional. In 2009 they were promoted to the Premier League after twice finishing as runners-up in the Cymru Alliance. 
One of the most successful Welsh teams, Bangor have played in the top tier since 1992 and have a long history of competing in Europe. They have won the Welsh Premier League three times (1994, 1995, 2011) and were runners-up this season, securing a place in the Europa League. They have an outstanding record in the Welsh Cup having appeared in 17 finals of which they won eight. The club moved into a new stadium at Nantporth near the Menai Strait in January of this year.
The Old Gold and Black have played in the WPL since 1996 but have won just one major honour, the Welsh Cup in 2007. After finishing in eleventh place this season, they faced relegation to the Welsh Football League but were reprieved when Neath were demoted after failing to win a domestic licence for next season..
Llanelli have a long history going back to 1896 and between 1922 and 1951 made ten unsuccessful attempts to join the Football League. They are one of the few WPL teams that are fully professional thanks to the backing of Tinopolis, a locally based TV company that specialises in the production of Welsh language programmes. They were WPL champions in 2008 and play at Stebonbeath Park. European fixtures are sometimes played at Parc y Scarlets, home of Llanelli Scarlets RFC.
In 2005 Neath AFC and Skewen Athletic merged to form Neath Athletic. The Eagles were promoted to the WPL in 2007. Since 2008 they shared the Gnoll stadium with Neath RFC, dropping "Athletic." In 2009 they turned full-time but this led to serious financial difficulties. Despite finishing third this season, Neath were relegated and denied a place in the Europa League after failing to overturn a decision to deny them domestic and UEFA licenses.
This mid Wales club, founded in 1875, was a founder member of the FA of Wales. They spent five seasons (1987-92) in the English Northern Premier League before reluctantly joining the new League of Wales in 1992. They finished in last place this season and were relegated to the Cymru Alliance.
Formerly known as Port Talbot Athletic, the club adopted their current name in 2001 to mark their centenary. They have spent most of the career in the lower reaches of Welsh football but have made steady progress since the mid-1990s. They were promoted to the League of Wales for the first time in 2000 and in 2010-11, qualified for the Europa League. The team are known as The Steelmen (the town is dominated by a huge steel works). The thistle in the crest suggests a Scottish connection, probably the influx of Scots in the nineteenth century attracted by jobs in the iron and steel industry.
Prestatyn won the Cymru Alliance championship in 2008 and, after they installed floodlights at their Bastion Road ground, were admitted to the WPL. In 2011-12 they secured a place in the top six play-offs and lost all their remaining games. This meant the Seasiders finished in sixth place with 11 points fewer than Airbus UK in seventh.
Formed in 1959 in the border village of Llansantffraid ym Mechain (pop 1,000), Llansantffraid FC stormed up the Welsh pyramid 30 years later and won the Welsh Cup in 1996. They then became Total Network Solutions FC following a £250,000 sponsorship deal with a computer company based in nearby Oswestry. Generally known as TNS, they merged with Oswestry Town in 2004.