00:00We've heard this week that the Welsh FA have managed to convince the English League-based
00:05Welsh teams to compete and potentially qualify for Europe in the Welsh League Cup. This is
00:10part of a huge overhaul of Welsh football called Prosiect Cymru, which aims to grow
00:14the grassroots level of the game around the country by bringing in more revenue for the
00:18FAW.
00:19It's caused a bit of a stir online with many English football fans saying it gives
00:23Welsh teams an unfair advantage, but the FAW and the teams involved have been keen to point
00:28out it's structured to prevent a financial advantage for the teams.
00:32Bringing those four big clubs into the Welsh League Cup will undoubtedly bring in interest
00:36and revenue for the competition, and the prospect of qualifying for Europe makes it even more
00:40tantalising.
00:41Obviously, qualification isn't guaranteed, but for context, Cardiff has won one FA Cup
00:46back in 1927, and Swansea has won one English Football League Cup in 2013, and both teams
00:52have a combined 32 Welsh Cups in their history, despite not playing in it since 1995, so clearly
00:59they'd fancy their chances to get to the latter stages.
01:02But that's not the only big news that broke as part of the plans this week.
01:07One big part of the new FAW plan is to invite this club behind me into the Welsh set-up,
01:12and have apparently offered a staggering £6 million over the next few years to entice
01:16them to play in the Welsh Premier League. Merthyr Tyne FC currently play in the seventh
01:20tier of English Football, a few below the English League, but if they were to join
01:23the Welsh Divisions it would mean being in the top flight, with a more realistic chance
01:27at European qualification, alongside teams like Cardiff City and Swansea.
01:32Online there's some anecdotal pushback from some fans, but many have also expressed a
01:36positive side to the plans.
01:38The £6 million in incentives from the FAW would go towards improving the stadium, annual
01:43payments and supplementing any drops in ticket sales.
01:46It's an interesting idea, and as the club is fan-owned, the board will vote on their
01:50decision towards the end of January.
01:53This is arguably the biggest overhaul in Welsh football history, so we'll have to wait anxiously
01:57to see what comes from it.
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