The FA vetoed Wales' plan to route its EFL clubs into European football (interview)

Prosiect Cymru proposed that Cardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham and Newport County — Wales' four English Football League clubs — join a revamped Welsh League Cup against the 12 teams of the Cymru Premier, with the winners qualifying for the Europa Conference League. The four clubs worked with the Football Association of Wales on the proposals and UEFA approved them. But after the EFL and some of its member clubs raised concerns, the FA board rejected the plan at its January 2025 meeting, citing competition integrity, fixture congestion, player welfare and the impact on existing competitions.

In a BBC Sport Wales interview FAW chief executive Noel Mooney was unapologetic: 'It would definitely have enhanced Welsh football so I'm not apologising to nobody for trying to do the best thing for Welsh football.' He argued that Scotland collects about £13m a year more in UEFA coefficient revenue because its biggest cities' clubs represent Scotland in Europe — revenue he said could fund girls', grassroots and disability football in Wales. 'All we're kind of saying is why would you not have the top clubs in Wales playing for Wales.'

The scheme also failed on its own patch. Merthyr Town, a fan-owned Southern League club the FAW wanted in an expanded 16-team Cymru Premier for 2026-27, put the offer to a members' vote and 96% voted against joining, preferring to stay in the English pyramid. Mooney called it a serious, one-off offer but disputed the reported value — 'We haven't spoken about the offer at all so where the numbers come from that are out there are a different story' — while confirming the FAW is putting £6m into the Cymru Premier itself.

Mooney says Wales loses £13m a year in UEFA revenue versus Scotland, and the four biggest Welsh clubs still have no path to European qualification

The scheme needed the English FA's consent because the four clubs play in English football — the one approval it never secured.

Objections from the EFL and its member clubs over competition integrity, fixture congestion and player welfare were predictable and went unanswered.

Expansion of the Cymru Premier relied on persuasion, and the flagship recruit, Merthyr Town, voted 96% against joining.

The financial case rested on Mooney's comparison with Scotland's £13m a year, not on any secured commitment from UEFA or the EFL.

A plan that needs a rival's consent is not a plan: the FAW won UEFA's approval but never had the English FA, and the stakeholder with veto power belongs in the design, not the post-mortem.

Wales' European places stay with Cymru Premier clubs, with The New Saints' run to playing Fiorentina last season cited by Mooney as proof of the format's promise — but he warned that without performing well, Wales could drop from four places back to three. The 2026-27 expansion to 16 teams was, in his words, a one-off opportunity to have made Merthyr Town the offer, and it passed.