Former Wrexham, Portsmouth, and Swansea City man joins Cymru South club

Cymru South newcomers Pontardawe Town have bolstered their squad with the signing of former Football League and Cymru Premier defender Dan Alfei.

A month on from their Ardal Leagues Play-Off final victory over Cwmbran Town, there has been plenty of change at Parc Ynysderw, including the departure of manager Christian Evans.

Steve Berry has since taken the reins and is now assembling a squad capable of competing at Cymru South level. Welsh bookmaker DragonBet currently tips the Swansea-based club to finish just above the relegation zone in their first season.

Alfei becomes Berry’s third signing of the summer. The experienced defender began his career with Swansea City before enjoying spells with Portsmouth, Wrexham and several other clubs across the Football League and Welsh football.

After confirming his arrival, a club statement read:

“Dan brings an outstanding level of quality, professionalism and experience to the squad. Signings of this calibre do not come around often, and his arrival represents a major statement of intent from the club.”

---

Dan Alfei’s career, including Wrexham and Portsmouth spells

Alfei returns to Welsh football having last featured for Trefelin 17 months ago.

A product of Swansea City’s academy, the right-back made four senior appearances for the Swans and was also named on the bench for several Premier League fixtures.

He enjoyed two loan spells with Wrexham during their time in the National League, making 21 appearances for the Red Dragons.

In 2014, Alfei joined Portsmouth on loan, becoming Richie Barker’s first signing at Fratton Park. He went on to make 15 appearances for Pompey as they finished 13th in League Two.

Further loan spells with Northampton Town and Mansfield Town followed, with Alfei making a combined 26 appearances across the two clubs.

After his contract at the Swansea.com Stadium expired, he joined Aberystwyth Town in 2016, making 16 appearances before returning to the English Football League with Yeovil Town. However, his time at Huish Park was cut short after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury just four games into his spell.

Alfei returned to Wales with Llanelli Town, where he made 18 appearances, although the Reds were relegated at the end of the campaign. A move to Haverfordwest County followed, but after only a handful of appearances, he returned to Llanelli.

In 2023, he was part of the Briton Ferry Llansawel side that finished third in the Cymru South before making the short switch to local rivals Trefelin, where he made 14 appearances. It is Ferry in who he has made the most appearances during his career, featuring 31 times.

Despite not earning a senior cap, one of the standout moments of Alfei’s career came in October 2013 when he was named in the Wales squad for FIFA World Cup qualifiers against North Macedonia and Belgium.

At youth level, Alfei won 13 caps for Wales Under-21s, lining up alongside future full internationals including Ipswich Town winger Wes Burns and goalkeeper Danny Ward.

Cymru South details

Pontardawe Town have also added Jay Farrell-Alli from Cymru South rivals Llanelli Town, along with Isaac Dudding from Swansea City, and Liam Samuel from Evans & Williams.

Dudding is a Wales Under-17 international who returns to the club after leaving EFL Championship side Swansea City. He originally began his youth career at Pontardawe before joining Swansea’s academy in 2019, where he went on to feature for the club’s Under-18 side.

Farrell-Alli is a natural centre-forward and made nine appearances in all competitions for the Reds last season, including three starts in the Cymru Premier.

Striker Liam Samuel has also made the switch from their Ardal South West rivals. The 33-year-old forward scored nine goals and provided seven assists in 25 appearances last season.

Their league fixtures will be announced at 10 am on Friday, 3 July, ahead of the opening weekend of the season, also on 31 July-1 August 2026.