This is a re-write of one of the most popular and regularly recurring questions brought up on social media and elsewhere regarding independence:
“Would Welsh clubs playing in the English pyramid (Cardiff City etc.) be forced into the Welsh football pyramid?”
Their place in the English pyramid is near enough guaranteed.
It’s worth stressing that any switch from the English pyramid to the Welsh pyramid would need to be voluntary. As they found out with the “Irate Eight”, the FAW are unable to force any club to switch pyramids. The Welsh Government can’t either as both FIFA and UEFA take a dim view of what they deem to be “political interference”.
The Welsh clubs playing in England are already subject to FA regulation, but they are also full members of their respective leagues.
There would need to be a rules breach for the English leagues to justify expelling Welsh clubs. In fact, the National League’s rules (pdf – Rule 2.2) explicitly state that clubs from Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are allowed to be members. Independence shouldn’t count as a rules breach as it wouldn’t materially affect the clubs’ existing status or their ability to fulfil league obligations.
The issues that would be worth considering are:
- Welsh clubs would be paying taxes to the Welsh equivalent of HMRC after independence and would be subject to Welsh financial regulations on things like insolvency (though the rules would likely be the same for a significant period after independence anyway). There’s currency too, obviously.
- Assuming the Common Travel Area remains in place there would be no border issues – so no issues with fans or players/staff attending cross-border fixtures.
- Wales is already nominally independent in footballing terms, so it shouldn’t affect the “homegrown” status of Welsh players playing for English clubs (or vice versa) – though that could change.
- Different immigration rules may mean Welsh clubs find it easier (or harder) to sign overseas players (i.e. work permit and special talent requirements).
- How the National Lottery would work after independence and what it would mean for clubs’ access to funding through grant schemes.
The national teams would almost certainly be unaffected. Anyway, a minority of Welsh internationals – men or women – play for Welsh clubs, regardless of whether those clubs play in the English or Welsh pyramid.
