The Ardal Leagues are a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
league in Wales. The word "ardal" translates as "district" in English, with Wales split into four regions at this level. They have clubs with amateur/semi-professional status and sit at the third level of the
Welsh football league system. The first year of their operation would have been 2020–21 but the
2020–21 Ardal North East season,
2020–21 Ardal North West season,
2020–21 Ardal South East season and
2020–21 Ardal South West season were all cancelled.
The inaugural season was moved to 2021–22. The creation of the leagues mark the first time the
Football Association of Wales
The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the Governing bodies of sports in Wales, governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, Welsh national foo ...
owns and is administering tier 3 of the Welsh league system. These changes follow from a review of the Welsh football pyramid. To be eligible clubs need to meet the criteria for FAW tier 3 certification.
The league is split into two leagues, covering North and South Wales. Both Northern and Southern leagues have two regionally-based sections of sixteen clubs each:
*Ardal Northern
** Ardal North East (
2022–23 Ardal NE season)
** Ardal North West (
2022–23 Ardal NW season)
*Ardal Southern
** Ardal South East (
2022–23 Ardal SE season)
** Ardal South West (
2022–23 Ardal SW season)
The winners of each league are promoted to either the
Cymru North or the
Cymru South
The Cymru South is a regional football league in Wales, covering the southern half of the country. It has clubs with semi-professional status and together with the Cymru North, it forms the second tier of the Welsh football league system.
The fi ...
as long as they meet the FAW's tier 2 certification criteria. Subject to also meeting these criteria, the four runners-up clubs enter play-off matches with two of the clubs also gaining promotion (one from the north and one from the south).
The Ardal Leagues structure replaced the former tier 3 leagues:
Welsh Football League Division One
The Welsh Football League Division One, known as the Nathanielcars.co.uk Welsh League First Division for sponsorship reasons, was a football league in South Wales. It formed the top division of the Welsh Football League and the second level of ...
, Mid Wales Football League, Mid Wales Football League Division One, Welsh Alliance League, Welsh Alliance League Division One and the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area), Welsh National League Premier Division, leagues based in South Wales, Mid Wales, North West Wales and North East Wales respectively.
Relegation from the Ardal Leagues is to six local tier 4 leagues, with three clubs relegated from each of the tier 3 leagues at the end of the season. The tier 4 leagues are run by each of the Area Associations of Welsh football, the West Wales Football Association, the South Wales Football Association, the Gwent County Football Association, the Central Wales Football Association, the North East Wales Football Association and the North Wales Coast Football Association.
Ardal League teams
On 10 July 2020 the FAW confirmed the 64 teams in the new tier 3 leagues. In an attempt to avoid dividing the current Mid-Wales teams across all four leagues, the North-East league contains a large contingent of the Mid-Wales teams. The North-West league contains the sides near the North Wales coast. After confirmation of their inclusion STM Sports F.C., STM Sports announced on 27 July that they had folded, leaving only 15 sides in the South West league. On 3 August it was confirmed that Cardiff Draconians F.C., Cardiff Draconians had been promoted from the South Wales Alliance League to fill the remaining place in the league.
Since COVID-19-originated restrictions were put in place by the FAW, as from 10 August, clubs could have trained in groups of 15 and contact training would have been allowed at all-levels of football. However, competitive and exhibition matches were still not allowed to take place. Consequently, the FAW decided to cancel what was to be the Ardal Leagues' inaugural 2020–21 season on 4 February 2021,
[ and on 26 March, Montgomery Town F.C., Montgomery Town withdrew from the North East league for pandemic-related reasons. They were replaced by Cardiff Draconians, as the highest placed team from the Alliance League who had been awarded a licence.
]
2022–23 season
The following clubs are league members for the 2022–23 season.
Ardal NE
*Berriew F.C., Berriew ''(resigned July 2022)''
*Bow Street F.C., Bow Street
*Builth Wells F.C., Builth Wells
*Caersws F.C., Caersws
*Cefn Albion F.C., Cefn Albion
*Corwen F.C., Corwen
*Dolgellau Athletic A.F.C., Dolgellau Athletic
*Llandrindod Wells A.F.C., Llandrindod Wells
*Llanfair United F.C., Llanfair United
*Llangollen Town F.C., Llangollen Town
*Llanrhaeadr F.C., Llanrhaeadr
*Llanuwchllyn F.C., Llanuwchllyn
*Machynlleth F.C., Machynlleth ''(withdrew July 2022)''
*Penycae F.C., Penycae
*Rhos Aelwyd F.C., Rhos Aelwyd
*Rhayader Town F.C., Rhayader Town
*Welshpool Town F.C., Welshpool Town
Ardal NW
*Bangor 1876 F.C., Bangor 1876
*Bodedern Athletic F.C., Bodedern Athletic
*Brickfield Rangers F.C., Brickfield Rangers
*Denbigh Town F.C., Denbigh Town
*Halkyn & Flint Mountain F.C., Flint Mountain
*Hawarden Rangers F.C., Hawarden Rangers
*Llandudno Albion F.C., Llandudno Albion
*Llangefni Town F.C., Llangefni Town
*Llanrwst United F.C., Llanrwst United
*Llay Welfare F.C., Llay Welfare
*Nantlle Vale F.C., Nantlle Vale
*Rhostyllen FC, Rhostyllen
*Rhydymwyn F.C., Rhydymwyn ''(resigned Sept 2022)''
*C.P.D. Y Rhyl 1879, Rhyl 1879
*Saltney Town F.C., Saltney Town
*Y Felinheli F.C., Y Felinheli
Ardal SE
*Abertillery Bluebirds F.C., Abertillery Bluebirds
*Blaenavon Blues A.F.C., Blaenavon Blues
*Brecon Corinthians F.C., Brecon Corries
*Caldicot Town F.C., Caldicot Town
*Chepstow Town F.C., Chepstow Town
*Croesyceiliog A.F.C., Croesyceiliog
*Goytre A.F.C., Goytre
*Lliswerry A.F.C., Lliswerry
*Monmouth Town F.C., Monmouth Town
*Newport City F.C., Newport City
*Risca United F.C., Risca United
*RTB Ebbw Vale F.C., RTB Ebbw Vale
*Tredegar Town F.C., Tredegar Town
*Treowen Stars F.C., Treowen Stars
*Trethomas Bluebirds A.F.C., Trethomas Bluebirds
*Undy Athletic A.F.C., Undy Athletic
Ardal SW
*A.F.C. Llwydcoed, AFC Llwydcoed
*Baglan Dragons F.C., Baglan Dragons
*Caerau (Ely) A.F.C., Caerau Ely
*Cardiff Draconians F.C., Cardiff Draconians
*Cefn Cribwr BC, Cefn Cribwr
*Cwmamman United A.F.C., Cwmamman United
*Dinas Powys F.C., Dinas Powys
*Garden Village A.F.C., Garden Village
*Mumbles Rangers F.C., Mumbles Rangers
*Penrhiwceiber Rangers F.C., Penrhiwceiber Rangers
*Penydarren B.G.C., Penydarren BGC
*Pontyclun F.C., Pontyclun
*Port Talbot Town F.C., Port Talbot Town
*Seven Sisters A.F.C., Seven Sisters Onllwyn
*Treharris Athletic Western F.C., Treharris Athletic
*Ynysygerwn F.C., Ynysygerwn
League champions, runners-up/promotion play-off finalists, relegated teams, and Fair Play winners
Ardal NE
Ardal NW
Ardal SE
Ardal SW
Promotion play-offs
Ardal NE and Ardal NW
= Ardal SE and Ardal SW
=
Applicants for FAW Tier 3 Certification
For the 2020–21 season 93 clubs applied for FAW tier 3 Certification. 84 clubs were successful in their applications.
See also
*List of association football competitions
*Mid Wales Football League
*Welsh Alliance League
*Welsh Football League
*Welsh National League (Wrexham Area)
References
External links
Ardal Northern twitter
Ardal Southern twitter
Ardal Northern Leagues
Y Clwb Pêl-droed
{{UEFA third leagues
Ardal Leagues,
Football leagues in Wales, 2
2020 establishments in Wales
Sports leagues established in 2020
Third level football leagues in Europe