Welsh League Cup - could someone explain it?

[Plachy]

I'm 15 seasons into a Welsh League save and would like something clarifying regarding the league cup (aka theWord Cup).

I've noticed that sides playing in England occasionally join the tournament (I've seen Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil, though also seen Cardiff through google searching).

Whilst I know this is completely legitimate (No Euro Cup spot, therefore it's open to any Welsh side regardless of which FA they're under) for these sides to be playing in the cup, I wanted to know what is the mechanism that decides whether or not the English league sides participate in the tournament?

To the best of my knowledge if you play as Swansea/Cardiff/Wrexham you won't be invited to play in the Welsh league cup. I've also raised the profile of the tournament significantly (fluctuates around 60th from memory), but Swansea have only played in it once (my 5th season) and Merthyr just the once as well (around the 10th season). I would love for the tournament to be a 'Best of Wales' tournament if I were able to increase the reputation further (I think I played one season in Wales in FM 12 and >1 English FA team was in the tournament), but aware this might be a futile goal.

Google hasn't been my friend on this one, so if anyone can shed some light on this would be most appreciated. I would also be interested in knowing more about this tournament in general, the first round including byes is 24 teams or so but I can't link together how the game decides on the 10 or so non-Welsh Premier League sides. Is it purely an invitational 'pick from a hat' random number deal?

[Plachy]

Bumping this as I might cry if I don't find out the answer to this. Would I be better suited asking in another area of the forums (editors?)?

[amack1n]

Been a while since I checked it, but a group of teams from Wales stopped playing in competitions organised by the Welsh FA and started to play in competitions organised by the English FA. Off the top of my head, the teams that did this are:

Swansea

Wrexham

Cardiff

Merthyr Tydfil

Newport

Might be a couple more, but these teams were called the Exiles as they stopped playing in Welsh competitions

A few decades later, these clubs continued to play in English competitions, but made up with the Welsh FA, and were invited back to play in the a cup. I think there's a cup called the Premier Cup (or there was) which Wrexham Swansea and Cardiff won for a good few decades on the bounce as they were so much better than the likes of TNS!

Hope that helps!

[Colorado]

Hi guys, I'm quite involved in Welsh football in a professional capacity, in real life there are four 'wild-cards' for clubs wishing to enter. In addition, the top six clubs from both the two regional feeder leagues also enter.

The semi-finalists from the previous round are given a bye to Round 2.

Here's this season's schedule: http://www.faw.org.uk/news/WILDCARD-ENTRY-RETURNS-TO-theWORD-CUP/99587/

[CymruAmBythWXM]

Due to any club in Wales being able to apply for a wildcard for this tournament, in game it was decided that the exiles were also eligible (for example Merthyr in real life). These teams were set as ones that the computer could select at random to take up a wildcard at some point in the future. However, due to the low probability of any of the Professional teams taking part in real life, they were also set as having a low probability of being selected in game. Any appearance of Wrexham, Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, plus Colwyn Bay and Merthyr, in game, is completely random.

[Plachy]

Been on holiday for the last week but thanks to the above posters for the clarifying posts.

Seems like the consensus is on it being random. Bit of a shame, but at least I can commit to playing the reserves in it each season.

Also thanks to Colorado for confirming that making the semis gives you a bye into round 2. I had never quite worked that one out either, I had assumed it was a EURO Cup/Top 4 in the league hybrid (as it always seemed to be my leagues equivalent of the 'Top 4' - at present TNS, Connah's Quay, Port Talbot and me (Pen-y-Bont), but occasionally one team would stick out like a sore thumb).

Seems like my dream of having a 'Best of Wales' cup is over, I was aiming to make Wales a top 20 European League and maybe push towards a 2nd CL spot, thought I would have seen a greater uptake in English FA sides under those circumstances.