The Swansea City Supporters’ Trust notes the recent publication of the FAW’s proposal to revamp the Welsh League Cup, allowing the four Welsh clubs playing in the English Football League to participate in the tournament and compete for a position in Europe. We have also seen the Club’s own release supporting the FAW’s plans that went out on their platforms late yesterday afternoon.
The Trust were first informed of the club’s intention to explore this opportunity last Summer, and welcomed the work done to explore all new revenue-generating opportunities that would support our shared goal to make the club more financially sustainable.
We have been kept informed of progress through the club’s Board of Directors meetings, as well as through our regular interactions with Chairman Andy Coleman, and Chief of Staff Ken Gude. This has been a long process of discussions between many parties, and we have shared questions and clarifications throughout.
We set out our position early on (which was shared by the club) that any proposed changes cannot jeopardise our position as a member of the English Football League system by taking this route. We also strongly believe that participation should not financially jeopardise the club through participation.
It is important to note that the club is not yet committed to anything – but it is a route that they are looking to pursue. As with any proposal, we fully recognise the variety of views from our supporters, which we have aimed to represent in all dealings with the club so far.
Evaluating the benefits and costs of this proposal
There are many aspects of the proposal that could be transformational for Welsh Football and for Swansea City, but we recognise that there are also valid concerns from supporters that need to be addressed and discussed.
For Welsh football, an improvement of our standing in the UEFA co-efficient rankings will provide greater year-on-year opportunities, and an influx of sustained funding will support clubs at all levels of the Welsh Football system.
The Trust is an avid supporter of the grassroots game in and around Swansea – we have and continue to make significant donations to the local game, but we know that this is a drop in the ocean as to what is needed in the long-term. As a country, we need more all-weather facilities and pitches, more funding for coaching and player development, and to continue to market Welsh Football as an appealing career choice for players and staff.
For the club itself, our understanding is that there are multiple potential benefits through success in the Welsh Cup:
- Increased revenue, putting the club on a better financial footing and reducing the overall requirement of annual financial injections by the ownership group to fund the club’s operations.
- Squad improvements, with the ability to attract players who wish to play in European competitions, as well as the ability to keep and retain our talented players who in the past have departed for European opportunities.
- Greater marketing of the club in Europe, which we hope would help improve the club’s brand and therefore create new commercial opportunities (e.g., sponsorships) that will bring in additional funding that can be used in the club’s Profit & Sustainability calculations.
- Larger pool of young players in Wales who are nurtured in grassroots football and can ultimately be brought into the club’s Academy and potentially become the stars of tomorrow.
We fully recognise that there is no guarantee that the club will be successful in the Welsh Cup – we see shock upsets in the FA Cup and League Cup every year, and there is no reason why the Welsh Cup won’t be the same. It will be essential that we perform well against established Welsh clubs and that the tournament is treated with priority if we are to compete.
However, we appreciate that this is not a universally popular proposal. We have been conducting a detailed review of feedback on Social Media forums and through messages/emails we have received directly from supporters, where they have shared very valid concerns and questions that need to be clearly addressed by the club and the FAW as this proposal progresses.
We have summarised the feedback and major areas of concern that we have seen from supporters below:
- Fairness for Welsh Clubs who currently compete in the Welsh League, even as the proposal has received unanimous support from those clubs.
- Fixture congestion is a real risk, especially if the club are successful and have long-runs in multiple tournaments.
- Squad management and fatigue, requiring a deep squad to ensure we can compete on multiple fronts, without slipping down the league table.
- Forgoing potential future revenue from European football (brought via winning an English-based cup competition or qualifying through the Premier League’s allotted European spots)
We are still looking to collect feedback from supporters and have created a form where you can share your views in a structured way. A collection of data points will enable us to have further evidence-based discussions with the club on your views, so we kindly ask you to take a few minutes to fill in the survey below:
FAW Welsh Cup Proposal – Views of Swansea City Supporters – Google Forms
We will gather, analyse, and share a consolidated view of responses with the club, and therefore ask for you to complete the survey within the next seven days (up to 23rd January 2025).
Next steps
There are still several approval hurdles and logistical challenges to overcome, and further consultation is essential with supporters prior to formal agreement between the clubs. It is important to note that there is no guarantee that the proposal will pass through the FA or EFL, where we understand there may be several clubs that will object to the proposals.
Separately, we continue to push the club to hold a Fans’ Forum at the earliest opportunity, where this matter and others can be discussed in greater depth and supporters’ questions can be answered directly by Andy Coleman, Luke Williams, and others.
Swansea City Supporters’ Trust
16th January 2025
