View source for Welsh Cup

{{short description|Association football tournament in Wales}}
{{infobox football tournament
| current           	= [[2025–26 Welsh Cup]]
| image              	= JD FAW Welsh Cup - Horizontal.png
| founded           	= {{start date and age|1877|df=yes}}
| number of teams   	= 253
| region            	= {{flag|Wales}}
| qualifier for        = [[UEFA Conference League]]
| current champions = [[The New Saints F.C.|The New Saints]]<br/>(10th title)
| most successful club 	= [[Wrexham A.F.C.|Wrexham]]<br/>(23 titles)
| website           	= 
}}
The '''FAW Welsh Cup''' ({{langx|cy|Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru}}), currently known as the '''JD Welsh Cup''' for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out [[Football (soccer)|football]] competition contested annually by teams in the [[Welsh football league system]]. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions in domestic Welsh [[association football]].

The [[Football Association of Wales]] (FAW) is the organising body of this competition, which has been run (except during the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic) every year since its inception in 1877–78.<ref name=notes>{{cite web|title=Welsh Cup Notes|url=http://www.wfda.co.uk/welsh_cup_notes.php|publisher=Welsh Football Data Archive|access-date=25 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315191153/http://www.wfda.co.uk/welsh_cup_notes.php|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the early years of organised football in Wales, football was very much the sport of north Wales rather than the [[rugby union]] playing south – the FAW was founded in 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 Conference League]] (previously teams qualified for the [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup]], which was discontinued in 1999, and until 2021, qualified for the [[UEFA Europa League]]).

==Participants==
Until 1995, Welsh clubs playing in the Welsh or English leagues were invited to play in the Welsh Cup. On occasion some English clubs, mostly teams from border areas (for example, [[Chester City F.C.|Chester City]], [[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]], [[Tranmere Rovers F.C.|Tranmere Rovers]], [[Hereford United F.C.|Hereford United]] and [[Shrewsbury Town F.C.|Shrewsbury Town]]), were also invited to participate. However, in the event of an English club winning the Welsh Cup, they were not allowed to progress to the [[European Cup Winners' Cup]]. Instead, the best placed Welsh club in the Welsh Cup competition would take the European place.

From 1996 to 2011, only clubs playing in the [[Welsh football league system]] were allowed to enter the Welsh Cup. This rule excluded the six Welsh clubs who played in the [[English football league system]]: [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]], [[Colwyn Bay F.C.|Colwyn Bay]], [[Merthyr Tydfil F.C.|Merthyr Tydfil]] (replaced by [[Merthyr Town F.C. (2010)|Merthyr Town]]), [[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]], [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]] and [[Wrexham A.F.C.|Wrexham]]. On 20 April 2011, the Football Association of Wales invited these six clubs to rejoin the Welsh Cup for the [[2011–12 Welsh Cup|2011–12]] season, but only Merthyr Town, Newport County and Wrexham accepted.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/9131098.County_s_Welsh_Cup_exile_over/ |title=Welsh cup exile over |work=South Wales Argus |date=9 July 2011 |access-date=9 July 2011 |archive-date=11 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811161108/http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/sport/9131098.County_s_Welsh_Cup_exile_over/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In March 2012, UEFA stated that Welsh clubs playing in the [[English football league system]] could not qualify for European competitions via the Welsh Cup but they could qualify via the English league and cup competitions,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17459332 |title=Uefa give Swansea and Cardiff European assurance |publisher=BBC Sport |date=21 March 2012 |access-date=11 February 2018 |archive-date=7 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107062951/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17459332 |url-status=live }}</ref> hence they were subsequently again excluded from the Welsh Cup.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18520092 |title=Welsh clubs excluded from Welsh cup |publisher=BBC Sport |date=20 June 2012 |access-date=11 February 2018 |archive-date=13 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151213065710/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18520092 |url-status=live }}</ref> Colwyn Bay joined the Welsh league system in 2019, thus becoming eligible to compete in the Welsh Cup again.<ref>{{cite news |title=FAW approves English-tier club Colwyn Bay's return to Welsh leagues |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47378508 |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=BBC Sport |date=26 February 2019}}</ref>

On 13 January 2025, the [[Football Association of Wales]] announced plans to relaunch the competition to include Cardiff City, Swansea City, Newport County and Wrexham competing with an expanded 16 team [[Cymru Premier]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Welsh Cup proposal could see Wrexham in Europe |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/43394906/welsh-fa-eyes-cup-see-wrexham-european-action |access-date=13 January 2025 |work=ESPN.com |date=13 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref> The following week, the [[The Football Association|English Football Association]] rejected the proposal citing competition integrity and that the proposal would allow Wales' four [[English Football League]] clubs to qualify for Europe via a Welsh domestic cup as well as seeking to qualify for European competition via the English system should they be promoted to the [[Premier League]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pritchard |first1=Dafydd |title=Prosiect Cymru: English FA rejects Welsh EFL clubs' European plan |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c5yep3k34pxo |access-date=24 January 2025 |work=BBC Sport |date=24 January 2025}}</ref>

==History==
Between the 1961–62 and 1984–85 seasons, the final was played as a two-leg match, originally on a points basis rather than aggregate score. In the 1985–86 season, it reverted back to a one game format (though a replay was required in the first two seasons), then changed to have a single game decided by extra time and penalties as necessary.<ref name=notes/>

With six wins, [[Shrewsbury Town F.C.|Shrewsbury Town]] hold the record for the most times an English team has won the Cup, a record that will remain unbroken because English teams have not been allowed to compete in the cup since 1995. The last English winner of the Welsh Cup was [[Hereford United F.C.|Hereford United]] in 1990.

==Results==
{{For|a list of Welsh Cup finals, including venue and attendance information|List of Welsh Cup finals}}

==Performance==
===Performance by club===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;"
!Club
!Winners
!Runners-up
!Final appearances
!Last final
|-
|align=left|[[Wrexham A.F.C.|Wrexham]]{{refn|Indicates a Welsh club that plays or has played in the [[English football league system|English system]].|name=english-system|group=w}}
|'''23'''
|22
|45
|1995
|-
|align=left|[[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]]{{refn|group="w"|name="english-system"}}
|'''22'''
|10
|32
|1995
|-
|align=left|[[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]]{{refn|group="w"|name="english-system"}}{{refn|Have played in the final as Swansea Town and Swansea City.|group=w}}
|'''10'''
|8
|18
|1991
|-
|align=left|[[The New Saints F.C.|The New Saints]]{{refn|Have played in the final as Llansantffraid and Total Network Solutions.|group=w}}
|'''10'''
|4
|14
|2025
|-
|align=left|[[Bangor City F.C.|Bangor City]]
|'''8'''
|10
|18
|2013
|-
|align=left|[[Cefn Druids A.F.C.|Cefn Druids]]
|'''8'''
|6
|14
|2012
|-
|align=left|[[Shrewsbury Town F.C.|Shrewsbury Town]] {{flagicon|England}}
|'''6'''
|3
|9
|1985
|-
|align=left|[[Barry Town United F.C.|Barry Town]]
|'''6'''
|1
|7
|2003
|-
|align=left|[[Chirk AAA F.C.|Chirk A.A.A.]]
|'''5'''
|1
|6
|1894
|-
|align=left|''[[Rhyl F.C.|Rhyl]]''{{Refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}}
|'''4'''
|4
|8
|2006
|-
|align=left|''[[Chester City F.C.|Chester City]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}} {{flagicon|England}}
|'''3'''
|10
|13
|1970
|-
|align=left|[[Merthyr Tydfil F.C.|Merthyr Tydfil]]{{refn|group="w"|name="english-system"}}
|'''3'''
|2
|5
|1987
|-
|align=left|''[[Telford United F.C.|Wellington Town]]''{{refn|name ="no-longer"|''Italics'' indicates the club no longer exists.|group="w"}} {{flagicon|England}}
|'''3'''
|–
|3
|1940
|-
|align=left|[[Connah's Quay Nomads F.C.|Connah's Quay Nomads]]
|'''2'''
|3
|5
|2025
|-
|align=left|''[[Oswestry United F.C.|Oswestry United]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}} {{flagicon|England}}
|'''2'''
|–
|2
|1901
|-
|align=left|[[Crewe Alexandra F.C.|Crewe Alexandra]] {{flagicon|England}}
|'''2'''
|–
|2
|1937
|-
|align=left|[[Newtown A.F.C.|Newtown]]{{refn|In essence a continuation of White Stars.|group=w}}
|'''1'''
|3
|4
|2015
|-
|align=left|[[Hereford United F.C.|Hereford United]] {{flagicon|England}}
|'''1'''
|3
|4
|1990
|-
|align=left|[[Aberystwyth Town F.C.|Aberystwyth Town]]
|'''1'''
|3
|4
|2018
|-
|align=left|''[[Connah's Quay & Shotton F.C.|Connah's Quay & Shotton]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}}
|'''1'''
|2
|3
|1929
|-
|align=left|[[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]]{{refn|group="w"|name="english-system"}}
|'''1'''
|2
|3
|1987
|-
|align=left|[[Carmarthen Town A.F.C.|Carmarthen Town]]
|'''1'''
|2
|3
|2007
|-
|align=left|[[Llanelli Town A.F.C.|Llanelli]]
|'''1'''
|2
|3
|2011
|-
|align=left|''[[White Stars F.C.|Newtown White Stars]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}}{{refn|In essence continued as Newtown after a 3 year hiatus.|group=w}} 
|'''1'''
|1
|2
|1881
|-
|align=left|''[[Oswestry F.C. (1875)|Oswestry]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}} {{flagicon|England}}
|'''1'''
|1
|2
|1885
|-
|align=left|[[Tranmere Rovers F.C.|Tranmere Rovers]] {{flagicon|England}}
|'''1'''
|1
|2
|1935
|-
|align=left|''[[Lovell's Athletic F.C.|Lovell's Athletic]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}}
|'''1'''
|1
|2
|1959
|-
|align=left|[[Bala Town F.C.|Bala Town]]
|'''1'''
|1
|2
|2023
|-
|align=left|''[[Ebbw Vale F.C.|Ebbw Vale]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}}
|'''1'''
|–
|1
|1926
|-
|align=left|[[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]] {{flagicon|England}}
|'''1'''
|–
|1
|1934
|-
|align=left|[[South Liverpool F.C.|South Liverpool]] {{flagicon|England}}
|'''1'''
|–
|1
|1939
|-
|align=left|[[Flint Town United F.C.|Flint Town United]]
|'''1'''
|–
|1
|1954
|-
|align=left|''[[Borough United F.C.|Borough United]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}}
|'''1'''
|–
|1
|1963
|-
|align=left|[[Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C.|Inter Cardiff]]
|'''1'''
|–
|1
|1999
|-
|align=left|[[Prestatyn Town F.C.|Prestatyn Town]]
|'''1'''
|–
|1
|2013
|-
|align=left|[[Aberdare Athletic F.C.|Aberdare Athletic]]{{refn|group="w"|name="english-system"}}
|–
|4
|4
|1923
|-
|align=left|[[Pontypridd Town A.F.C.|Pontypridd]]
|–
|3
|3
|1921
|-
|align=left|[[Cwmbrân Town A.F.C.|Cwmbran Town]]
|–
|3
|3
|2002
|-
|align=left|''[[Westminster Rovers F.C.|Westminster Rovers]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}}
|–
|2
|2
|1892
|-
|align=left|''[[Whitchurch F.C.|Whitchurch]] {{flagicon|England}}''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}}
|–
|2
|2
|1906
|-
|align=left|[[Northwich Victoria F.C.|Northwich Victoria]] {{flagicon|England}}
|–
|2
|2
|1910
|-
|align=left|[[Kidderminster Harriers F.C.|Kidderminster Harriers]] {{flagicon|England}}
|–
|2
|2
|1989
|-
|align=left|[[Ruthin Town F.C.|Ruthin]]
|–
|1
|1
|1880
|-
|align=left|''[[Davenham F.C.|Davenham]]''{{refn|name="no-longer"|group="w"}} {{flagicon|England}}
|–
|1
|1
|1887
|-
|align=left|[[Aberdare Town F.C.|Aberaman]]
|–
|1
|1
|1903
|-
|align=left|[[Ton Pentre F.C.|Ton Pentre]]
|–
|1
|1
|1922
|-
|align=left|[[Merthyr Town F.C. (1909)|Merthyr Town]]{{refn|group="w"|name="english-system"}}
|–
|1
|1
|1924
|-
|align=left|[[Flint Town United F.C.|Flint Town]]
|–
|1
|1
|1925
|-
|align=left|[[Stourbridge F.C.|Stourbridge]] {{flagicon|England}}
|–
|1
|1
|1974
|-
|align=left|[[Hednesford Town F.C.|Hednesford Town]] {{flagicon|England}}
|–
|1
|1
|1992
|-
|align=left|[[Afan Lido F.C.|Afan Lido]]
|–
|1
|1
|2007
|-
|align=left|[[Port Talbot Town F.C.|Port Talbot Town]]
|–
|1
|1
|2010
|-
|align=left|[[Penybont F.C.|Penybont]]
|–
|1
|1
|2022
|}

===Notes===
<references group="w"/>

==See also==
*[[FAW Premier Cup]]
*[[Football in Wales]]
*[[List of football clubs in Wales]]
*[[List of stadiums in Wales by capacity]]
*[[Welsh football league system]]
*[[Welsh League Cup]]
*[[FAW Trophy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.wfda.co.uk/welsh_cup_year_index.php Welsh Football Data Archive Welsh Cup pages]

{{Welsh Cup seasons}}
{{Football in Wales}}
{{Football in the United Kingdom}}
{{National football Cups (UEFA region)}}

[[Category:Welsh Cup| ]]
[[Category:Football cup competitions in Wales|1]]
[[Category:National association football cups|Wales]]
[[Category:1877 establishments in Wales]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1877]]