Welsh Football League


The Welsh Football League was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football league system. Level 3 – the Welsh Football League Division One and level 4 Welsh Football League Division Two. It folded in 2020 after the Football Association of Wales took over the running of tier 3 leagues and the responsibility for tier 4 passed to regional football associations.
The Welsh Football League's history stretches back to 1904 when the competition was first formed and Aberdare were crowned first champions of a seven-team First Division. Abergavenny were champions of Division 2 and Trelewis the winners of Division 3.

The first season in 1904–05

In April 1904, the Merthyr Express newspaper reported that a new football league would be formed in addition to the South Wales League which had been in existence since 1891.
This new competition would be named the Rhymney Valley League and the reason for its creation was due to the South Wales League being overly dominated by Cardiff clubs, though the number of teams from Cardiff barely numbered more than a couple in any one season.

Structure

Until 1992 and the formation of the League of Wales, the league operated at the top tier of the Welsh football league system. Between 1992 and 2019, it operated as three divisions, with the winners of Welsh Football League Division One eligible for promotion to the Welsh Premier League. The league comprised 16 teams, with the bottom two relegated to Welsh Football League Division Two

Former divisions