History of the league
IN 2010-11 the Welsh Premier league (formerly the League of Wales) went through its first major transformation since its inception in 1992.
The league was reduced from 18 teams to the Super 12, with six teams dropping down into the feeder Cymru Alliance league.
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Welsh Premier 2010-2011
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P
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W
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D
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L
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F
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A
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Pts
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Championship
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Bangor City
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32
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22
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4
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6
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80
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44
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70
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The New Saints
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32
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20
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8
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4
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87
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34
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68
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Neath FC
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32
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16
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10
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6
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62
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41
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58
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Llanelli AFC
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32
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15
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8
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9
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58
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41
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53
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Prestatyn Town
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32
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10
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10
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12
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44
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46
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40
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Port Talbot Town
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32
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8
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12
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12
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37
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48
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36
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Conference
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Aberystwyth
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32
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11
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9
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12
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42
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54
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42
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Airbus UK
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32
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11
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8
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13
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53
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52
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41
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Newtown AFC
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32
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8
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11
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13
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40
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55
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35
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Carmarthen
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32
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10
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5
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17
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39
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64
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35
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Bala Town
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32
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10
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3
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19
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41
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57
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33
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Relegated
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Haverfordwest
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32
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5
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4
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23
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30
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77
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19
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The first Super 12 champions were Bangor City, winning their first title for 16 years when they pipped holders The New Saints to the top spot with a 1-0 victory against the Saints at Farrar Road on the last day of the season.
There were 20 clubs in the League of Wales for the inaugural campaign which kicked off on the 15 August 1992, with Konica Peter Llewellyn Limited of Swansea as the sponsor.
Cwmbran Town, managed by Tony Wilcox, took the first title and became the first League of Wales Club to play in Europe when they took on Cork City in the preliminary round of the Champions Cup in August 1993.
The Crows won the home leg 3-2, but lost the second leg 2-1 in Cork and were eliminated on the away goals rule.
Bangor City won the championship in 1993-94 and 1994-95, with Inter Cardiff the runners-up for the second time in 1993-94.
In 1994-95 Afan Lido were runners-up - having won the League of Wales Cup in 1992-93 and 1993-94 - but the Aberavon-based side were relegated at the end of the 1995-96 season, they were promoted back into the league two seasons later.
Barry Town dominated the league for the next four seasons, winning the title and League Cup consecutively. Under the guidance of player-coach Gary Barnett the Dragons were almost unbeatable domestically and also had an excellent European campaign in 1996, beating Dinaburg from Latvia and Visutas Budapest from Hungary, before going down 6-4 on aggregate to Aberdeen.
League runners-up during Barry's dominance were Newtown in 1995-96 and 1997-98, and Inter Cardiff in 1996-97 and 1998-99.
The 1999-2000 campaign saw the rise of Total Network Solutions (Llansantffraid) - now known as The New Saints - who became the fourth club to win the league. But the Dragons stormed back to take the championship in the following season and retained the title in 2001-02.
Barry became the first Welsh Premier club to win a Champions League tie in 2001 when they beat FC Shamkir from Azerbaijan. With The New Saints becoming the second with their victory against Irish-side Bohemians in 2010-11.
The Dragons made it three titles in a row in 2002-03, with a spirited fightback to pip TNS to the crown.
Cwmbran were runners-up in 2000-01, with TNS finishing second in the three subsequent years with Rhyl crowned champions for the first time in 2003-04.
Rhyl failed to retain their title but finished runners-up to TNS, who claimed their second title in 2004-05.
The following year Llanelli finished second to TNS, with Rhyl again second in 2006-07, when The New Saints were crowned champions for the fourth time.
The following year The New Saints finished the campaign as runners-up to Llanelli, with Rhyl back on top in 2008-09, when Llanelli finished second.
But the Saints made it five Welsh Premier titles in 2009-10, when Llanelli were again runners-up and Port Talbot Town third.
Only three of the founder clubs - Aberystwyth Town, Bangor City and Newtown - have played in all 19 seasons of the league, while two founder members, Afan Lido and Llanelli have fought their way back after relegation.
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