The time the foot-and-mouth disease affected Welsh football
The coronavirus outbreak has seen the suspension of all Welsh domestic fixtures until at least April 3.
There are no guarantees when this season will be cleared to resume, nor should there be.
The suspension of football due to the outbreak could bring back of the memories for some involved in Welsh football of 19 years ago.
And it could offer some guidance into how Welsh football can deal with the challenges it could face, regarding completing the season and how the leagues will be shaped moving forward.
It forced one league to finish without all games being completed, whilst another had to abandon their season entirely.
In 2001, the Mid Wales League season was abandoned due to the foot-and-mouth disease.
At the time, Aberystwyth Town’s Reserves were top of the league and were ineligible for promotion, as were second-placed Newtown Reserves.
Football resumed in 2001 and the North Wales footballing bodies got around it, by promoting Guilsfield to the Cymru Alliance, this was despite being fifth before play was halted.
Guilsfield had submitted an application to join the league. They were accepted after the merger of Llangefni Town and Glantraeth after an extra promotion spot was made available.
No team was demoted from the Cymru Alliance, as no North Walian team was relegated from the then League of Wales.
How the Cymru Alliance table finished during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak:
| Huws Gray Fitlock League | P | W | D | L | For | Ag | Pts |
| Caernarfon Town | 32 | 24 | 4 | 4 | 105 | 29 | 76 |
| Llangefni Town | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 67 | 34 | 65 |
| Welshpool Town | 32 | 19 | 7 | 6 | 86 | 35 | 64 |
| Cemaes Bay FC | 32 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 64 | 38 | 60 |
| Buckley Town | 31 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 66 | 29 | 58 |
| CPD Porthmadog | 31 | 16 | 6 | 9 | 62 | 37 | 54 |
| Llandudno FC | 32 | 14 | 6 | 12 | 46 | 52 | 48 |
| Lex XI FC | 31 | 12 | 4 | 15 | 68 | 84 | 40 |
| Halkyn United | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 47 | 55 | 39 |
| Holywell Town | 32 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 47 | 69 | 39 |
| Airbus UK | 31 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 54 | 63 | 37 |
| Ruthin Town | 32 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 48 | 60 | 37 |
| Holyhead Hotspur | 31 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 59 | 76 | 36 |
| CPD Glantraeth | 25 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 60 | 26 |
| Denbigh Town | 32 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 32 | 84 | 20 |
| Brymbo Broughton | 30 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 34 | 78 | 19 |
| Flint Town United* | 32 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 43 | 85 | 13 |
How the Cymru Alliance table finished the season after the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak:
| Huws Gray Fitlock League | P | W | D | L | For | Ag | Pts |
| Welshpool Town | 34 | 25 | 5 | 4 | 101 | 29 | 80 |
| Llangefni/Glantraeth | 34 | 24 | 3 | 7 | 76 | 36 | 75 |
| Cemaes Bay FC | 34 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 81 | 45 | 73 |
| CPD Porthmadog | 34 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 88 | 45 | 68 |
| Buckley Town | 34 | 21 | 4 | 9 | 72 | 38 | 67 |
| Ruthin Town | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 76 | 51 | 58 |
| Halkyn United | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 58 | 43 | 58 |
| Airbus UK | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 55 | 55 | 54 |
| Holyhead Hotspur | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 72 | 78 | 49 |
| Llandudno FC | 34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 55 | 80 | 39 |
| Gresford Athletic | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 47 | 59 | 37 |
| Llanfairpwll FC | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 59 | 81 | 36 |
| Flint Town United | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 40 | 58 | 31 |
| Lex XI FC** | 34 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 67 | 87 | 31 |
| Guilsfield FC | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 49 | 82 | 30 |
| Holywell Town | 34 | 8 | 5 | 21 | 50 | 85 | 29 |
| Brymbo Broughton | 34 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 40 | 80 | 23 |
| Denbigh Town* | 34 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 83 | 17 |
In the Cymru Alliance, Caernarfon Town were crowned champions, with a nine-point lead over Llangefni, having played two games more.
Llangefni, Buckley, Porthmadog, Lex XI, Halkyn United, Airbus UK, Holyhead Hotspur and Brymbo Broughton
CPD Glantraeth were the worst affected, having only played 25 games that year.
How the Mid Wales League table looked before abandonment:
| Spar Mid-Wales League | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| Aberystwyth Town Res | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 11 | 44 |
| Newtown Res | 22 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 57 | 37 | 43 |
| U.C.W. Aberystwyth | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 29 | 28 |
| Presteigne St Andrews | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 41 | 26 | 26 |
| Guilsfield | 13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 20 | 26 |
| Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 33 | 31 | 26 |
| C.P.D. Penrhyncoch | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 7 | 25 |
| Carno | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 32 | 24 | 25 |
| Kerry | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 37 | 27 | 23 |
| Rhayader Town Res | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 30 | 39 | 22 |
| Llanidloes Town | 18 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 30 | 37 | 20 |
| Caersws Res | 16 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 16 | 35 | 13 |
| Meifod | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 44 | 11 |
| Waterloo Rovers | 15 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 12 | 33 | 8 |
| Llandrindod Wells | 17 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 18 | 54 | 4 |
| Season halted due to serious foot and mouth outbreak in Mid Wales. |
How the Mid Wales League table looked the season after the abandonment:
| Spar Mid-Wales League | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| C.P.D. Penrhyncoch | 28 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 117 | 27 | 68 |
| Carno | 28 | 21 | 2 | 5 | 100 | 33 | 65 |
| Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant | 28 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 71 | 29 | 63 |
| Aberystwyth Town Res | 28 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 86 | 35 | 62 |
| Newtown Res | 28 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 64 | 49 | 46 |
| Caersws Res | 28 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 50 | 48 | 40 |
| Llanfyllin Town | 28 | 12 | 4 | 12 | 70 | 65 | 40 |
| Llanidloes Town | 28 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 48 | 60 | 37 |
| Kerry* | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 51 | 47 | 36 |
| Presteigne St Andrews | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 68 | 80 | 35 |
| U.C.W. Aberystwyth | 28 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 64 | 76 | 33 |
| Waterloo Rovers | 28 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 37 | 88 | 26 |
| Rhayader Town Res | 27 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 39 | 109 | 17 |
| Meifod | 28 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 44 | 97 | 15 |
| Llandrindod Wells | 28 | 3 | 4 | 21 | 33 | 104 | 13 |
The abandonment of the Mid Wales League, saw Aberystwyth’s reserves denied a title, in a season which saw them unbeaten. They played 16 games, winning 14 and drawing twice.
After resuming their season in the 2001/02 season, they were unable to recapture their form and finished fourth that year.
Their nearest placed rivals Newton Reserves in 2000/01 had played eight games more and were a point behind.
It was Guilsfield who would be promoted to the second tier, despite being 18 points behind the league leaders.
Penrhyncoch played the least amount of fixtures before the season was abandoned, having played just 12.
They would turn on the style the season after though, winning the Mid Wales League title.
Were any other leagues effected?
Unlike the other leagues in Wales, the League of Wales and all divisions of the South Walian based ‘Welsh Football League’ were able to complete their seasons.
(Featured Image: NCM Media)
