Pontypridd Town promoted to Cymru Premier and Barry relegated
Pontypridd Town v Swansea University in the JD Cymru South at USW Sports Park on the 29th January 2022. Credit: Lewis Mitchell
Pontypridd Town will take their place in the Cymru Premier next season and will replace Barry Town United, who have been relegated.
The Dragons will take their place in Welsh football’s top flight for the first time in their history, replacing the seven-time winners.
Llantwit Major, who won the Cymru South on Monday, had submitted an appeal but were unsuccessful, but second-placed Pontypridd were successful in theirs.
As long as a team finishes in the top two and has the Tier One Licence, then they can take their place in the Cymru Premier.
Barry suffered a 1-0 defeat to Aberystwyth Town on Easter Monday which condemned them to one of the relegation spots. They will be relegated to the second tier along with the Cefn Druids and replaced by Airbus UK and Pontypridd.
Gavin Chesterfield’s side have been in the division for the past five seasons following their promotion in 2017 and in two of them had been in European competition against Cliftonville and NSÍ Runavík.
But their finish of 11th place with a return of eight wins, seven draws, and 16 losses is their lowest since their return.
With one game remaining in the South, Pontypridd are five points behind Llantwit on 66 points.
Jonathan Jones’ men recorded 20 wins out of the 20, drawing six and losing three, and possess the best attack in the league with 77 goals. Their defence is also statistically the second strongest.
Their promotion will see representation from the Rhondda Cynon Taf in Welsh football’s top league for the first time. The last representative from the Rhondda was Ton Pentre, who last played in the then League of Wales in 1997.
‘We are pleased to announce that the Football Association of Wales have confirmed that a Tier 1 Licence has been awarded to our men’s first team,” said a statement from chairman Paul Ragan.
“We would like to thank all parties who have supported us. This is great news for the Ponty family and we look forward to our first season in the JD Cymru Premier.
“Today we celebrate, tomorrow the work begins.”
