Wikipedia

1992–93 League of Wales

The 1992–93 League of Wales was the inaugural season of the League of Wales, the top division of Welsh football. The League was made up of 20 member clubs that joined from leagues within both the English football league system and Welsh football league system.

League of Wales
Season1992–93
ChampionsCwmbran Town
(1st title)
RelegatedLlanidloes Town
Abergavenny Thursdays
Champions LeagueCwmbran Town
(preliminary round)
Matches played380
Goals scored1,232 (3.24 per match)
Top goalscorerSteve Woods (29)
Biggest home winEbbw Vale 10–0 Briton Ferry Athletic
(6 January 1993)
Biggest away winBangor City 0–6 Holywell Town
(31 October 1992)
Abergavenny Thursdays 0–6 Afan Lido
(16 January 1993)
Llanidloes Town 0–6 Aberystwyth Town
(24 April 1993)
Highest scoringEbbw Vale 10–0 Briton Ferry Athletic
(6 January 1993)
(10 goals)

Overview

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Background

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The new league was formed for the 1992–93 season. At the time, Wales was unusual in world football in that despite the Football Association of Wales (FAW) being a FIFA member and, along with the other three home nations (England, Northern Ireland and Scotland), holding a permanent seat on the International Football Association Board (IFAB), it did not organise a national league.[1] With African and Asian nations feeling that the FAW were taking advantage of this fact, FAW Secretary General, Alun Evans announced in October 1991 that the new league would start at the beginning of the next season.[2][3][4]

There were cross-regional leagues, such as the Cymru Alliance and the Welsh Football League along with the long established National competition, in the form of the Welsh Cup. However it was always felt that organising a national league would prove too difficult, due to the poor transport links between the North and South, combined with the fact that the larger clubs tended to ply their trade in the English football league system. At the time, Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham were playing in The Football League, with Newport County having been relegated at the end of the 1987–88 season. The FAW decided to allow the remaining Football League teams to continue to play in the English system. Of the non-league clubs: Bangor City, Barry Town, Caernarfon Town, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Newtown and Rhyl, the FAW gave them the ultimatum of joining the Welsh football league system or continue to play in the English system and be forced to play home games on English soil.[4]

The 'Irate Eight', as they were dubbed by the Welsh press, appealed against this decision arguing that they should continue to play where they wished. However, with the exception of Merthyr Tydfil who were playing in the Football Conference, they were all told that they must join the new league. Of the eight only Bangor City, Newtown and Rhyl decided to join the new league, although Rhyl's application was late meaning they were forced to play in the Cymru Alliance, with the remaining five, dubbed 'The Exiles', would continue to play in the English System.[5][6] Barry Town, who changed their name to Barri while ground-sharing with Worcester City at St George's Lane, continued to play in the Southern Football League Midland Division along with Newport who were ground-sharing with Gloucester City.[7][8] Caernarfon Town and Colwyn Bay continued to play in the Northern Premier League, with Caernarfon Town ground-sharing with Curzon Ashton at their Tameside Stadium and Colwyn Bay doing the same with Northwich Victoria at the Drill Field.[9]

As the new league was to top the Welsh football league system, the FAW sought re-organise the Welsh football pyramid, by placing the League of Wales at the top of the pyramid with the largest regional divisions, the Cymru Alliance and the Welsh Football League, being placed below this as feeder leagues. With this in mind the FAW sought to invite clubs from these leagues to become members of the League of Wales. Of the two leagues eight clubs left the Cymru Alliance with ten clubs leaving the Welsh Football League.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]

League members

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Location of clubs in 1992–93 League of Wales
Club Ground Manager Captain Previous league Pos.
Abergavenny Thursdays Pen-y-Pound Welsh Football League National Division 1st
Aberystwyth Town Park Avenue   Tomi Morgan Welsh Football League National Division 3rd
Afan Lido Afan Lido Sports Ground   David Rees
  Phil Robinson 		Welsh Football League National Division 8th
Bangor City Farrar Road Stadium   Paul Rowlands Northern Premier League Premier Division 20th
Briton Ferry Athletic Old Road Stadium Welsh Football League National Division 2nd
Caersws Recreation Ground Cymru Alliance 1st
Connah's Quay Nomads Halfway Ground   Ray Jones Cymru Alliance 6th
Conwy United Y Morfa Cymru Alliance 5th
Cwmbran Town Cwmbran Stadium Welsh Football League National Division 7th
Ebbw Vale Eugene Cross Park Welsh Football League National Division 11th
Flint Town United Cae-y-Castell Cymru Alliance 4th
Inter Cardiff Cardiff Athletics Stadium Welsh Football League National Division 12th
Haverfordwest County Bridge Meadow Stadium Welsh Football League National Division 4th
Holywell Town Halkyn Road Cymru Alliance 11th
Llanelli Stebonheath Park   Alwyn Mainwaring Welsh Football League National Division 10th
Llanidloes Town Victoria Avenue Cymru Alliance 12th
Mold Alexandra Alyn Park Cymru Alliance 10th
Maesteg Park Tudor Park Welsh Football League National Division 6th
Newtown Latham Park   Brian Coyne Northern Premier League Division One 14th
Porthmadog Y Traeth Cymru Alliance 3rd

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Cwmbran Town (C) 38 26 9 3 69 22 +47 87 Qualification for Champions League preliminary round
2 Inter Cardiff 38 26 5 7 79 36 +43 83
3 Aberystwyth Town 38 25 3 10 85 48 +37 78
4 Ebbw Vale 38 19 9 10 76 61 +15 66
5 Bangor City 38 19 7 12 77 58 +19 64
6 Holywell Town 38 17 8 13 65 48 +17 59
7 Conwy United 38 16 9 13 51 51 0 57
8 Connah's Quay Nomads 38 17 4 17 66 67 −1 55
9 Porthmadog 38 14 11 13 61 49 +12 53
10 Haverfordwest County 38 16 5 17 66 65 +1 53
11 Caersws 38 14 10 14 63 60 +3 52
12 Afan Lido 38 14 10 14 64 65 −1 52
13 Mold Alexandra 38 16 3 19 63 69 −6 48[a]
14 Llanelli 38 11 8 19 48 64 −16 41
15 Maesteg Park 38 9 13 16 52 59 −7 40
16 Flint Town United 38 11 6 21 47 67 −20 39
17 Briton Ferry Athletic 38 10 9 19 61 87 −26 39
18 Newtown 38 9 9 20 55 87 −32 36
19 Llanidloes Town (R) 38 7 9 22 48 93 −45 30 Relegation to Cymru Alliance
20 Abergavenny Thursdays (R) 38 7 7 24 36 76 −40 28 Relegation to Welsh First Division
Source: RSSSF.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Mold Alexandra were docked three points for entering administration.

Results

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Home \ Away AGV ABE AFA BAN BRI CWS CQN CON CWM EBB FTU HAV HOL INC LLA LID MAE MOL NTW POR
Abergavenny Thursdays 0–1 0–6 0–1 3–4 1–2 0–2 2–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–3 3–2 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–2 3–1 1–1
Aberystwyth Town 2–0 1–0 0–2 6–0 3–2 3–1 0–2 0–2 4–1 2–0 0–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 5–1 3–1 1–1 6–1 2–2
Afan Lido 2–1 0–1 1–0 3–2 2–2 2–1 2–3 0–0 1–3 1–0 0–3 2–1 0–0 1–2 3–1 3–3 4–2 2–1 0–1
Bangor City 3–1 1–0 3–2 2–4 4–1 1–2 4–1 2–3 1–0 4–0 3–0 0–6 0–1 4–3 6–1 1–1 7–1 3–1 1–1
Briton Ferry Athletic 1–3 1–2 1–1 2–5 1–1 0–3 1–3 0–4 1–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–3 1–1 7–1 2–2 0–4 6–1 4–0
Caersws 1–3 5–0 2–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 3–0 1–3 0–1 1–2 2–2 0–0 3–1 5–2 1–1 0–3
Connah's Quay Nomads 2–1 1–3 5–2 0–0 1–3 2–1 1–0 0–1 5–0 4–1 2–0 4–2 1–2 0–3 1–1 3–1 1–3 4–1 0–1
Conwy United 1–0 3–1 2–2 0–2 4–2 0–0 4–3 0–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 5–2 1–0 0–4 1–1 0–0
Cwmbran Town 1–0 2–0 3–0 2–2 1–0 1–1 6–1 2–2 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 2–1
Ebbw Vale 3–0 3–2 5–4 1–1 10–0 5–3 3–2 1–0 0–1 1–3 2–2 0–0 2–5 1–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 5–2 1–1
Flint Town United 2–0 0–2 2–0 0–3 3–1 1–2 1–3 1–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 4–1 1–2 1–1 0–3 3–1
Haverfordwest County 1–2 1–3 2–3 2–2 3–1 1–2 4–0 1–3 0–5 3–0 4–3 2–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 5–2 5–3 1–2 1–2
Holywell Town 3–0 1–3 1–1 2–0 2–0 5–0 0–0 2–2 1–3 1–4 3–1 0–1 2–0 3–1 1–3 1–1 4–2 1–1 0–1
Inter Cardiff 1–0 1–2 5–2 4–0 5–1 4–1 4–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–1 2–3 2–0 4–1 2–1 0–0 1–0 5–1 2–1
Llanelli 1–0 0–3 0–2 1–3 1–0 0–2 1–3 1–2 0–1 4–2 1–3 1–1 0–2 1–4 4–2 3–2 2–0 3–0 0–3
Llanidloes Town 1–1 0–6 2–2 1–3 2–1 0–2 3–2 3–0 1–0 3–4 2–4 1–2 1–5 1–1 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–3 1–1
Maesteg Park 3–0 0–2 2–2 5–0 1–1 3–2 4–0 1–1 0–3 0–2 0–1 2–0 3–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–1
Mold Alexandra 3–1 1–3 1–2 3–1 1–2 2–3 2–1 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–3 3–0 1–4 0–1 1–0 4–2 1–0 4–0 0–3
Newtown 1–0 1–3 1–1 3–1 2–3 1–5 1–2 3–0 1–2 2–2 1–2 4–3 0–1 1–4 2–2 2–0 4–4 1–3 1–0
Porthmadog 9–0 3–4 0–3 0–0 0–0 3–2 2–3 0–1 0–2 3–0 2–1 1–3 2–3 2–0 1–2 2–2 2–1 3–0 2–2
Source: [citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top goalscorers

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Goals Player Team
39 Steve Woods Ebbw Vale
26 Tim O'Connor Afan Lido
25 David O'Gorman Connah's Quay Nomads
Chris Summers Inter Cardiff
23 David Taylor Conwy United
22 Francis Ford Briton Ferry Athletic
21 Chris Davies Connah's Quay Nomads
20 Kevin Morrison Aberystywth Town
18 Mitch Patton Afan Lido
17 Michael Davies Aberystwyth Town
Ian Howat Holywell Town

Source:[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ FIFA's 208 Member Associations fifa.com Retrieved 30 August 2009
  2. ^ Doyle, Paul (29 June 2015). "Welsh football is in weird and wonderful league of its own but game is on the up". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. ^ League History Archived 3 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine welsh-premier.com 18 June 2010
  4. ^ a b The Exiles Archived 3 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine welsh-premier.com Retrieved 18 June 2010
  5. ^ Bangor City Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  6. ^ Newtown Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  7. ^ Barry Town Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  8. ^ Barri Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  9. ^ Club History clubwebsite.co.uk/caernarfontown Retrieved 18 June 2010
  10. ^ Abergavenny Thursdays Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  11. ^ Aberystwyth Town Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  12. ^ Afan Lido Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  13. ^ Briton Ferry Athletic Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  14. ^ Caersws Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  15. ^ Connah's Quay Nomads Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  16. ^ Conwy United Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  17. ^ Cwmbran Town Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  18. ^ Ebbw Vale Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  19. ^ Flint Town United Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  20. ^ Inter Cardiff Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  21. ^ Haverfordwest County Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  22. ^ Holywell Town Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  23. ^ Llanelli Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  24. ^ Llanidloes Town Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  25. ^ Maesteg Park Athletic Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  26. ^ Mold Alexandra Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  27. ^ Porthmaog Football Club History Database Retrieved 18 June 2010
  28. ^ "Top 25 individual scorers 1992/3". welsh-premier.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
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