Liverpool FC Forum

by **woof woof !** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:11 am

Watching TNS last night got me thinking about the Welsh league and I started wondering why the likes of Cardiff,Swansea and Wrexham all play in the English leagues. We don't have teams from Northern Ireland or Scotland (except maybe Berwick ? ) in our leagues .So why are these "foreign" teams playing football in England ? I thought there was some kind of mandate from uefa that said clubs had to play in their own countries domestic league ,wasn't that one of the reasons why the likes of Celtic and Rangers are stuck with playing their football in Scotland ? .

Anybody have any background info on this issue ? .

by **112-1077774096** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:04 am

The creation of the first national football league for Wales in 1992 was a rather traumatic event. Because of geography, it has always been much easier to travel east-west than north-south, so it was natural for clubs to tend to look east to England for competitors, and the principal non-Football League teams such a Bangor City and Barry Town played in the English non-League pyramid. In the early 1990s UEFA insisted that clubs should not play in a "foreign" league (and arguments about the United Kingdom being one country do not wash with UEFA because all four countries participate in international competition in their own right), thus came about the creation of the League of Wales. Many of the northern clubs refused to participate in the new league initially, and for a time played their "home" English league games in exile at grounds to the east of the English border. Eventually the new order was accepted, although the presence in the English League of the professional Welsh teams, Cardiff City, Wrexham, and Swansea City, remains an anomaly in the eyes of UEFA, ameliorated only by their being debarred from competing for the Welsh Cup which used to provide one of them with near-guaranteed European competition each year.

by **112-1077774096** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:07 am

basically they can play in england but it lestens their chance of qualifying for europe, in the league of wales they would surely qualify from league position or by winning the welsh cup, so i suppose in a way they are being punished as they really have no chance of getting into europe via the english league and cup :;):

by **JBG** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:39 pm

Another example is Monaco, a principality that plays in the french League.

I remember 7 or 8 years ago Monaco seriously considered leaving the French League and joining up with Seria A, although the plan was possibly scuppered by UEFA. Monaco were prepared to start afresh in the bottom Italian professional league, although it was believed that they would be fastracked to Seria A after two seasons, kind of like what happened to Fiorentina after they went bankrupt and had to start all over again.

by **JBG** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:42 pm

A second example is Derry City, a team from Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom but which plays in the League of Ireland.

by **112-1077774096** » Thu Jul 21, 2005 1:41 am

and berwick is actually in england but they play in scotland

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