Welsh Premier League bosses call for talks

Jan 12 2008 by Paul Abbandonato, Western Mail

WELSH PREMIER bosses have echoed Peter Ridsdale’s call for urgent talks with FAW bigwigs over plans for a radical shake-up of their league.

The FAW’s proposal to ask sides from Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham to enter the Welsh Premier next season, and thus qualify for Europe, has sent shock waves around the game.

Cardiff chairman Ridsdale says he needs to meet FAW chiefs to thrash out the nuts and bolts of the plan.

And Welsh Premier officials have asked their secretary John Deakin to obtain as much detail as possible from his own FAW boss David Collins.

Under the restructuring proposal, five Welsh Premier teams would lose their places in a new 16-club league.

The Welsh Premier clubs were, as expected, up in arms after attending a meeting in Mid Wales yesterday to voice their opposition to the proposal.

An official statement from the clubs read, “The recent newspaper reports that the FAW were to permit reserve teams from Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham to join the Welsh Premier in 2008-09 were discussed at meeting of the league’s board of directors.

“The board were informed that this proposal was presented to the FAW board at a meeting prior to Christmas as part of a FAW strategy paper, but there had to date been no further discussion on the matter.

“The Welsh Premier board therefore decided that it would be inappropriate to make any definitive comment regarding this matter until further information is available.

“The board did, however, instruct the league secretary to write to the FAW to seek consultation on those aspects of the FAW strategy paper appertaining to the league.

“There will not be any further comment until the situation is clarified.”