View source for FAW Premier Cup

{{Infobox football tournament
|sport=[[Association football|Football]]
|founded=1997
|abolished=2008
|teams=16
|countries={{WAL}}<br />{{ENG}}
|current champions=[[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]]
|most successful club = [[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]] (5 titles)
|}}
The '''FAW Premier Cup''' (until 1998 the FAW Invitation Cup) was a [[Wales|Welsh]] [[association football|football]] cup competition, organised annually by the [[Football Association of Wales]] from 1997 to 2008. Since the FAW excluded clubs playing in [[English football league system|English leagues]] (including six Welsh clubs) from playing in the [[Welsh Cup]] from 1996 onwards, the FAW needed another competition where the best Welsh teams could compete.

The original format incorporated the three Welsh clubs then playing in the [[The Football League|Football League]] ([[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]], [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] and [[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]) along with [[Merthyr Tydfil F.C.|Merthyr Tydfil]] and four League of Wales clubs (now the [[Cymru Premier]]). Until the 2001–02 season, Merthyr Tydfil had a guaranteed place, as [[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]] and [[Colwyn Bay F.C.|Colwyn Bay]] were not invited to take part. From then onwards, the highest placed of the three were invited. Colwyn Bay never subsequently qualified.

From the 2004–05 season, the competition was expanded to 16 clubs – the top 10 placed clubs from the [[League of Wales|Welsh Premier League]], joined by the two best-placed of the three teams: Newport County, Merthyr Tydfil and Colwyn Bay, the [[Welsh Cup]] winners plus Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham.

The competition offered a healthy prize fund. A share of the TV coverage money for live matches was also split between both clubs. The losing semi-final teams each received £25,000. The losing finalists received £50,000, with the winners receiving £100,000.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.welsh-premier.com/index.php/past/faw-premier-cup/premier-cup-2007-8 |title=FAW Premier Cup 2007/8 |work=welsh-premier.com |publisher=Welsh Premier Football |access-date=12 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103130218/http://welsh-premier.com/index.php/past/faw-premier-cup/premier-cup-2007-8 |archive-date=3 January 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_of_wales/3006821.stm |title=Cup crowns Wrexham season |work=bbc.co.uk |publisher= BBC |date=8 May 2003 |access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref>

The competition's most senior clubs were accused of taking the competition lightly. Cardiff City in particular, following the arrival of ambitious owner [[Sam Hammam]] enjoyed relative success in the [[Football League]] but Cardiff City won the FAW Premier Cup just once, beating arch-rivals Swansea City in the 2002 final.

Wrexham appeared in all but three finals. The only [[Welsh Premier League]] clubs to have played in the final are Barry Town, Rhyl, The New Saints and Llanelli. The 2007 final was the first final not to include one of the English Football League clubs. In the last final, on 11 March 2008, [[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]] beat [[Llanelli A.F.C.|Llanelli]] at Newport Stadium.

The FAW Premier Cup was broadcast on [[BBC Wales]]. However, after BBC Wales withdrew their sponsorship of the competition in 2008, the competition was cancelled.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.low.org.uk/news/WelshPrem33639.ink |title=Board Confirms No Premier Cup Next Season |work=low.org.uk |publisher=Welsh Premier Football League |date=11 April 2008 |access-date=11 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080429023323/http://www.low.org.uk/news/WelshPrem33639.ink |archive-date=29 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the 2011-12 season the FAW announced that the six exiled clubs would again be invited to play in the Welsh Cup. [[Merthyr Town F.C. (2010)|Merthyr Town]], [[Newport County F.C.|Newport County]] and [[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]] all accepted but [[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]], [[Colwyn Bay F.C.|Colwyn Bay]] and [[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]] rejected the invitation. However, because [[UEFA]] refused to give any of these clubs entry into the [[UEFA Europa League|Europa League]] by this route, these clubs did not enter the Welsh Cup in the following season.

==Results of finals==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- 
!Year
!Winners
!Result
!Runners-up
!Venue
!Attendance
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 1997–98|1997–98]]
|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|2–1
|[[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]]
|[[Racecourse Ground]]
|
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 1998–99|1998–99]]
|[[Barry Town F.C.|Barry Town]]
|2–1
|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|[[Racecourse Ground]]
|
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 1999–2000|1999–2000]]
|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|2–0
|[[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]]
|[[Racecourse Ground]]
|
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 2000–01|2000–01]]
|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|2–0
|[[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]]
|[[Vetch Field]]
|
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 2001–02|2001–02]]
|[[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]]
|1–0
|[[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]]
|[[Ninian Park]]
|align="right"|6,629
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 2002–03|2002–03]]
|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|6–1
|[[Newport County F.C.|Newport County]]
|[[Racecourse Ground]]
|align="right"|4,014
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 2003–04|2003–04]]
|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|4–1
|[[Rhyl F.C.|Rhyl]]
|[[Belle Vue (Rhyl)|Belle Vue]]
|align="right"|2,800
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 2004–05|2004–05]]
|[[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]]
|2–1
|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|[[Vetch Field]]
|align="right"|9,000
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 2005–06|2005–06]]
|[[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]]
|2–1
|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|[[Racecourse Ground]]
|align="right"|3,032 
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 2006–07|2006–07]]
|[[The New Saints F.C.|The New Saints]]
|1–0
|[[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]]
|[[Newport Stadium]]
|align="right"|1,809 
|-
|[[FAW Premier Cup 2007–08|2007–08]]
|[[Newport County F.C.|Newport County]]
|1–0
|[[Llanelli A.F.C.|Llanelli]]
|[[Newport Stadium]]
|align="right"|1,889
|}

==Club-by-club record==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: right"
!Rank
!Club
!Appearances
!Winners
!Runners-up
!Winning year(s)
|-
|1
|align="left"|[[Wrexham F.C.|Wrexham]]
|'''11'''
|5
|3
|align="left"|1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04
|-
|2
|align="left"|[[Swansea City A.F.C.|Swansea City]]
|'''11'''
|2
|2
|align="left"|2004–05, 2005–06
|-
|rowspan="2"|3
|align="left"|[[Cardiff City F.C.|Cardiff City]]
|'''11'''
|1
|2
|align="left"|2001–02
|-
|align="left"|[[Newport County A.F.C.|Newport County]]
|'''7'''
|1
|2
|align="left"|2007–08
|-
|rowspan="2"|5
|align="left"|[[Barry Town F.C.|Barry Town]]
|'''7'''
|1
|–
|align="left"|1998–99
|-
|align="left"|[[The New Saints F.C.|The New Saints]]
|'''9'''
|1
|–
|align="left"|2006–07
|-
|rowspan="2"|7
|align="left"|[[Rhyl F.C.|Rhyl]]
|'''8'''
|–
|1
|
|-
|align="left"|[[Llanelli A.F.C.|Llanelli]]
|'''3'''
|–
|1
|
|}

==See also==
*[[Football in Wales]]
*[[Welsh football league system]]
*[[Welsh Cup]]
*[[Welsh League Cup]]
*[[List of football clubs in Wales]]
*[[List of stadiums in Wales by capacity]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.faw-premiercup.com/ Official website of the competition]

{{FAW Premier Cup}}
{{Football in Wales}}
{{Football in the United Kingdom}}

[[Category:FAW Premier Cup| ]]
[[Category:Football cup competitions in Wales]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2008]]
[[Category:Defunct football competitions in Wales|FAW Premier Cup]]
[[Category:National association football cups|Wales]]
[[Category:2008 disestablishments in Wales]]
[[Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1997]]
[[Category:1997 establishments in Wales]]