- Welsh Cup
infobox football tournament
current =Welsh Cup 2008-09
founded = 1877
number of teams = 135
region = WAL
ENG
current champions = Bangor City (6 times)
most successful club = Wrexham (23 times)
website =The Welsh Cup is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams from
Wales .The
Football Association of Wales is the organising body of this competition, which has been run (except during the two World Wars) every year since its inception in 1877-78. In the early years of organised football in Wales, football was very much the sport of North Wales rather than the rugby-playing south - the FAW was founded in Ruabon, near Wrexham in 1876, and Wrexham remained the site of the FAW's head office until 1986; it was not until 1912 that a southern team, Cardiff City, won the Welsh Cup for the first time.The winning team qualifies to play in the following season's
UEFA Cup (previously teams qualified for theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup , which was discontinued in 1999).Until 1995, clubs playing in those parts of England close to the Welsh border could also play in the Welsh Cup, but could not progress to the European Cup Winners' Cup by winning the cup. Since 1995, only clubs playing in the
Welsh football league system have been allowed to enter the Welsh Cup. This rule excludes the 6 Welsh clubs who play in theEnglish football league system : Cardiff City, Swansea City, Wrexham (the last English-oriented winner in 1995), Newport County, Merthyr Tydfil and Colwyn Bay.The last English winner of the Welsh Cup was
Hereford United in 1990.Welsh Cup Final results 1877-2008
* "won on penalties"Performance by club
The top three winners, which are the biggest professional clubs in Wales and compete in the English Football League, have not been able to add any more wins since 1995 as they are no longer allowed to compete in the competition.
smallsup|1 Have played in the final as Swansea Town and Swansea City
smallsup|2 Have played in the final as LLansantffraid and Total Network Solutions
smallsup|e indicates English club
smallsup|w indicates Welsh club that plays in English system
"italics" indicates Club no-longer existExternal links
* [http://www.wfda.co.uk/welsh_cup_year_index.php Welsh Football Data Archive Welsh Cup pages]
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