Welsh Women's football given new identity as Adran Leagues launched

The Football Association of Wales have today announced the launch of the Adran Leagues.

Announced today by the Welsh governing body, it is the new name, identity, and structure for the top two levels of Women’s football.

A new sponsor has also been found also with Genero, a creative agency, agreeing to a two-year deal, the most lucrative deal to date.

The Ardan Premier, the top flight of Women’s football will consist of eight teams, equating to 14 regular season matches. The league will then split for the top half and bottom half, playing each other twice.

The prize remains the same with the winner qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Champions League. For the team that finishes bottom, they will be relegated into their respective geographically based division.

Feeding into the top flight are the Adran North and South divisions. The divisions like the Premier will have eight teams in each.

As the league only comprises eight teams, the Champions of the respective leagues will have an end-of-season play-off for the one and only promotion spot available.

There will also be a new Under-19s Regional League, consisting of 22 teams across the North and South.

The Adran Cup is also another competition that will include 22 teams, include Tier 2, who will play in a preliminary group stage round before Tier 1 joins at the Round of 16 stage for knock-out fixtures.

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Lowri Roberts, head of women’s football at the FAW, said: “We want our players to feel empowered every time they step onto the pitch. Football has exactly the same rules no matter what gender you identify as, what country you’re from, or what language you speak. In this new chapter for the domestic game in Wales, we want to make a statement that by removing ‘women’s from the league name, the game remains exactly the same – it’s football.

“The new structure will create clearer pathways, improved provision and games programmes, and support for players allowing us to better nurture our footballing talent in Wales. This gives our players a stronger platform to achieve their potential. In turn, this will serve both the Welsh representative in the UEFA Women’s Champions League and Cymru’s ambitions to qualify for a major international tournament.”

Adran Premier