Robert Clement of welshpremier.co.uk spoke to League Secretary Gwyn Derfel ahead of the new campaign which begins on September 7th.
Following the launch of the Welsh Premier Women’s League season at the City of Cardiff Stadium, during the interval of the Wales v England FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying match, league secretary Gwyn Derfel spoke with WPWL reporter Robert Clement, about the new campaign which is rapidly approaching, along with the success of the last twelve months.
“Undoubtedly you have to nod your cap to Cardiff Metropolitan winning the domestic treble, and during the last month they’ve won one of their UEFA Champions League qualification games in Portugal, which they’ve never done before, so they’ve set the bench mark, and it’s up to other teams to try and emulate their success of last season”.
“There are 3,500 people here this evening, and the thinking of the launch, with us having prepared a video showing some of the highlights of the league last season, so let’s hope that they’ll support the domestic campaign which starts on September 7”.
“Two new clubs have been promoted into the league this season with Rhyl & Prestatyn having merged to all intent and purpose; they’re still the Prestatyn team of last season that won promotion, but they’ll be playing at the Corbett Sport Stadium, Rhyl’s first team pitch, which is a positive development for our league”.
“Cwmbran Celtic have also come up to give us a bit more geographical balance as well, and I’m confident they’ll do well this season because they’re an organised club, and having spoken to them at length during the close season, I know they’re really looking forward to the new campaign. I’m sure that they’ll be having a sneaking look over their shoulders at what PILCS their neighbours have managed to do in their first season, finishing second was great credit to PILCS, and I’m sure Cwmbran Celtic are thinking that if PILCS can do it, then we will give it a good go as well”.
“The other development is Caernarfon’s demise from the league and subsequently Aberystwyth’s reintroduction. We were only told a matter of a week ago that Caernarfon had decided that it was only fair for the league, and for the club itself, because they were not guaranteed of completing the season, so they felt that the honourable thing of doing was pulling out before the season started, because it’s well documented the problems we’ve had in the last two season’s. We didn’t want to replicate that, and Aberystwyth were more than pleased to step back into the league with Park Avenue being a great facility for visiting sides to play at, and I’m sure that teams will enjoy also going to Llandudno and also the Corbett Sports Stadium, as well”.
(Since the interview was conducted Hafren United have also withdrawn from the WPWL and so 11 teams will participate this season)
With Derfel starting his third season as Secretary of the Welsh Premier Women’s League, with it being more competitive following the success of Cardiff Metropolitan and PILCS, he was asked if he thought that the two clubs were favourites to repeat their success of last season.
“I think that all the other teams can take a lot of heart from the performance of PILCS last year, especially the newly promoted club’s: they did give Metro a run for their money, but the student’s are obviously clear favourites to win the domestic honours again”
“We’re not unlike any other league in Europe really, we’ve always got certain clubs who set the standards, and it’s up to the other clubs to try and steal their thunder, to compete with those types of teams”.
Derfel added: “There will be a couple of name changes with Prestatyn becoming Rhyl & Prestatyn and the fact that their matches will be played at the Corbett Sports Stadium is a really positive development.
Llandudno Junction will now become Llandudno: with the FAW having invested significantly in the new 3G surface, and Llandudno Junction felt that it was time to actually go to Llandudno Men’s club at Maesdu Park and say can we be part of your club, can we use the facilities, so I think that it’s a positive development for the men and women’s team, because if you haven’t been there, go there because the facilities are fantastic, and I personally think that the 3G is almost better for women’s football than men’s because there is a lot of passing in it and skill, so in all it’s a very welcome step forward”.
Fixtures for September 7th (2pm):
Aberystwyth Town v Rhyl & Prestatyn
Cwmbran Celtic v Cardiff Met
Newcastle Emlyn Ladies v Llandudno
PILCS v Swansea City
Port Talbot Town v Cardiff City FC.
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
