As part of proposals entitled Prosiect Cymru (Project Wales) – first revealed by BBC Sport Wales last September – Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham and Newport were pitching to compete in a revamped cup against the 12 teams from Wales’ top flight, the Cymru Premier.
Those clubs were broadly supportive of the idea, while Uefa had given its approval.
The FAW said the new Welsh League Cup would have generated £3m a season, which would have been invested into grassroots infrastructure projects, women’s football and the domestic game in general.
But the EFL, while not commenting publicly before Thursday’s decision, had expressed concerns about the plans over a number of reasons.
Fixture congestion was one because Championship games, for example, often take place in midweek at the same time as European games.
Money was a more significant consideration. With tight regulations over profit and sustainability rules, it was argued Wales’ clubs – with their greater chance of reaching Europe – would have an unfair advantage.
The FAW had said clubs would not include the revenues in their PSR accounting, but they would still benefit from extra ticket sales and possible bigger commercial and sponsorship deals – or even being more attractive to potential signings.
The Welsh clubs would also have sacrificed their ability to qualify for Europe via English competitions – as Swansea did when they won the EFL Cup in 2013 – but those pledges were not enough to get the green light for Prosiect Cymru.
A statement from the FA read: “Following careful consideration, taking into account various factors including equal opportunity for clubs to participate in the same competitions, for the same rewards on an equal basis; concerns raised by stakeholders regarding competition integrity, fixture congestion and player welfare, and the impact on the standing of existing competitions, the FA Board has rejected the request.
“It was noted that it is open to the Welsh clubs to choose whether or not to participate in the English or Welsh system based on their own assessment of the relative merits of participation in each system, but if they choose to participate in the English system they must do so on the same basis as the English clubs which participate in that system.”
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