Project Wales: Why Wrexham shouldn’t make Welsh football a Marvel crossover

The controversial Project Wales proposal would see Welsh clubs plying their trade in the English Football League (EFL) granted the right to compete in the Nathaniel MG Cup and, in the process, offered a route into Europe.

As the Welsh equivalent of the Carabao Cup, the Nathaniel MG Cup involves teams from the top two tiers of the country’s football pyramid competing for a spot in the UEFA Conference League qualifying round.

Traditionally, the cup competition excludes those Welsh clubs currently competing in the EFL such as Swansea City, Cardiff City, Newport County, and Ryan Reynold’s Wrexham.

In this article, Sports News Blitz writer Samuel Leasley explores how the changes proposed in Project Wales may end up doing more harm than good for Welsh football.

Against the spirit of the game

The principal criticism of Project Wales (Prosiect Cymru) centres on it ruining the competitive nature of the Nathaniel MG Cup by introducing EFL clubs with significantly higher budgets than those in the Cymru Premier.

Such criticism follows similar backlash against the ongoing ‘wildcard’ inclusion of the Swansea and Cardiff U21 sides in the competition.

Last year, Swansea’s youth side made it all the way to the final before losing 5-1 to defending champions The New Saints — the only non-EFL full-time professional team in Wales — while the Bluebirds’ U21s are contesting a semi-final in this year's competition.

The imbalance created by Project Wales will in all likelihood destroy the European aspirations of traditional Cymru Premier sides and runs the risk of turning the Nathaniel MG Cup into the Liechtensteiner Cup where fully professional FC Vaduz have only lost once — on penalties — since 1998.

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Money a significant factor in proposal

A major driving factor behind the proposal is no doubt the burgeoning global presence of Wrexham and the money that continues to follow them up the English football pyramid.

Indeed, there could be no greater outcome for the Hollywood ownership or their Disney+ documentary crew than for Wrexham to land glamorous ties against high-profile European clubs.

The likes of FC Copenhagen — who made the Champions League round of 16 last term — and English powerhouse Chelsea participated in this season’s Conference League qualifiers and would represent mouth-watering opponents for the oldest club in Wales.

Moreover, this route into European competition would come at a much lower cost for Wrexham than if they went through the English pyramid.

This seeming monopolisation of the Nathaniel MG Cup for Wrexham’s gain does not sit well with Darren MacAnthony, the chairman of fellow League One side Peterborough United.

MacAnthony recently voiced his concerns regarding the proposal: “[The Welsh clubs] don’t make money as it is. They don’t have the TV deals, and now all of a sudden you’re going to try and take that from them? I’m not sure that sits well with me”.

And it would seem that the numbers back MacAnthony up, with The New Saints having raked in €4.6 million from their European exploits this season, an amount that dwarfs the average income from television rights or attendances in the Cymru Premier.

A potentially unnecessary and harmful change

With EFL sides already having access to some of the biggest clubs in Europe through English domestic competitions, Wrexham’s revenue stream might be better off avoiding Conference League regulars from Gibraltar, San Marino, and Andorra.

Taking this into consideration, the qualifiers could prove an unwelcome distraction from far more lucrative league football and ultimately become a hindrance.

Under Project Wales, Wrexham would have to contend with Conference League fixtures alongside their usual commitments to the EFL Trophy and a 46-game league season — a tall order for any club.

Additionally, Conference League qualifiers begin in July, thus necessitating a hugely reduced off-season for the players and, ironically, a shortening of lucrative pre-season tours in favour of fixtures against European minnows.

When viewed through this lens, while the proposal is clearly very appealing to the Wrexham ownership, it is unlikely to be popular with the players.

Cymru Premier record goalscorer Marc Lloyd Williams went a step further and cast his doubts over the possibility of the Welsh EFL sides even qualifying for the league phase of the Conference League should they win the Nathaniel MG Cup.

“Just because TNS [The New Saints] have qualified for Europe, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Cardiff or Swansea or Wrexham or Newport would,” Williams noted of the controversial plans.

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Welsh football should be the priority

Given the recent continental success of The New Saints, who became the first Welsh side to reach a European league phase, the focus must be on investing in the Cymru Premier and increasing the presence of professional sides in the league.

With Wales now at its highest-ever UEFA coefficient, major effort should be placed into lifting the rest of the Cymru Premier up to the standard set by The New Saints.

Qualifying for the league phase of the Conference League nets clubs a minimum of €3 million, which could provide the basis for further growth in the domestic game.

Notably, professionalisation has successfully driven sides from the likes of Gibraltar (Lincoln Red Imps) and Northern Ireland (Larne) into European football and returned significant reward on investment.

Another often-overlooked aspect is that of the fans’ experience. By all accounts, Cymru Premier fanbases deserve to have their local competitions protected and boosted rather than eaten up by greedy neighbours.

While Project Wales has touched on issues of grassroots investment and the financial needs of Welsh football as a whole in its campaign, it is telling that those moments have been lost in a sea of Wrexham propaganda and swaggering documentary adverts.

There is still plenty of time for changes to be made to the controversial proposal, ones that could provide for a much more equal and rewarding structure, but only time will tell how successful the push-back against the money men is.

As it stands, a cloud of doubt hangs over Project Wales and for good reason.

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