Walloonian Football League A

The Walloonian Football League A, often referred to as League A in Walloonia and currently known as the Carling League A for sponsorship reasons, is the top tier of domestic football in Walloonia. It is contested by 18 clubs annually from August through May, and runs on a promotion and relegation system within the WFA (Walloonian Football Association). Each team plays 34 games per year, mostly on Saturdays and Sundays.

The competition was formed in 1996 as a merger of the amateur Walloonian Premier League, and the amateur Walloonian Cynghrair Pêl-droed (English: Walloonian Football League). However, it took until 2004 for the league to gain professional status. The Walloonian Premier League had been itself originally founded in 1952 as the Royal League of Walloonia, and was fully professional. However, after the Independence War began, the word "Royal" drew crowds away from the league, which was not helped by rampant hooliganism. In 1976, the league was renamed to Walloonian League A, but crowds kept failing to watch the sport, as many saw it as a symbol of British dominance over the islands. This led to the league losing its professional status in 1979. Trying to get crowds to return to the sport, league executives adopted the modern promotion and relegation system in 1988, and changed the league's name again to the Walloonian Premier League in 1994.

The league ran its first season in 1996-97 to a crowd of only around 1,000 per game. To attempt to draw more crowds, the league expanded its size to the modern 18 team format starting in the 1998-99 season. At the turn of the century, crowds were slowly beginning to rise, but the league remained amateur. However, starting in 2002, attendance skyrocketed to nearly 20,000 on average compared to 4,600 on average only two years prior. When the league finally obtained its professional license in 2004, league executives signed a TV deal with Walloonian TV giants WNC (Walloonian News Centre), and attendance jumped even higher. In the modern league, most games will see about 62,000 people to the higher echelons of about 140,000 per game, depending on the team in question.

History of League Champions

Season	Champion	#
1996-97	CPD Bala (Bala FC)	(1)
1997-98	CPD Bala (Bala FC)*	(2)
1998-99	Dinas Rhondda (Rhondda City)	(1)
1999-00	Dinas Wrecsam (Wrexham City)	(1)
2000-01	CPD Gwyndaf Llewelyn (Gwyndaf Llewelyn FC)	(1)
2001-02	Dinas Rhondda (Rhondda City)*	(2)
2002-03	CPD Bala (Bala FC)*	(3)
2003-04	Gwyr Harlech CPD (Men of Harlech FC)	(1)
2004-05	Cymry Rhondda (Rhondda Welshmen)	(1)
2005-06	Cymry Rhondda (Rhondda Welshmen)*	(2)
2006-07	Cymry Rhondda (Rhondda Welshmen)*	(3)
2007-08	CPD Dinas y Fflint (Flintshire FC)	(1)
2008-09	Abertawe Unedig (Swansea United)	(1)
2009-10	Gogleddwyr Llanelli (Llanelli Northerners)	(1)
2010-11	Abertawe Unedig (Swansea United)*	(2)
2011-12	Cymry Rhondda (Rhondda Welshmen)*	(4)
2012-13	Dinas Wrecsam (Wrexham City)*	(2)
2013-14	Dreigiau Wrecsam CPD (Wrexham Dragons)	(1)
2014-15	Abertawe Unedig (Swansea United)*	(2)
2015-16	Gogleddwyr Llanelli (Llanelli Northerners)*	(2)
2016-17	Cennin Pedr Aberhonddu (Brecon Daffodils)	(1)
2017-18	CPD Gwyndaf Llewelyn (Gwyndaf Llewelyn FC)*	(2)
2018-19	Dinas Wrecsam (Wrexham City)*	(3)
2019-20	Abertawe Unedig (Swansea United)*	(3)
2020-21	Gwyr Harlech CPD (Men of Harlech FC)*	(2)
2021-22	Dinas Wrecsam (Wrexham City)*	(4)
2022-23	Cymry Mynwy (Monmouth Welshmen)*	(5)
2023-24	Cymry Mynwy (Monmouth Welshmen)*	(6)

Teams
The 18 teams in League A in the 2024-25 season will be:

Club	Position in 2023-24	# of Championships	Last Championship
Bala FC	10th	3	2002-03
Brecon Daffodils	9th	1	2016-17
Colwyn FC	8th	0	N/A
Flintshire FC	14th	1	2007-08
Gwyndaf Llewelyn FC	6th	2	2017-18
Holyhead Town	1st (in League B)	0	N/A
Llanelli Northerners	15th	2	2015-16
Men of Harlech FC	3rd	2	2020-21
Merthyr Tydfil FC	13th	0	N/A
Monmouth Welshmen	1st	6	2023-24
Neath Town	12th	0	N/A
Pembrokeshire United	16th	0	N/A
Perth Rangers	7th	0	N/A
Rhondda City	11th	2	2001-02
Royal Flintshire	2nd (in League B)	0	N/A
Swansea United	5th	3	2019-20
Wrexham City	4th	4	2021-22
Wrexham Dragons	2nd	1	2013-14

Notable Other Clubs
Although only eighteen clubs participate in League A every season, there are a few other clubs no longer in League A who have managed to either finish a season in the top four (thus qualifying for the OFC Champions League) or won the WFA Cup while in League A.

Club	Last Season in League A	# of League A Top 4 Finishes	# of Top Flight Titles (Royal League & League A)	WFA Cup Wins in Top Flight
Hawthorne Town	2002-03	1	1 (1 Royal League)	2
Royal Swansea	2006-07	5	2 (2 Royal League)	3
Ferndale United	2020-21	1	0	0
Aberystwyth Seasiders	2022-23	0	3 (3 Royal League)	0
Newbridge Lions	2023-24	3	0	1

Competition format
A total of eighteen clubs participate each year in League A, and each team plays a total of 34 games in a double round-robin format (playing every other team twice: once on their home ground, once on their opponents' ground). A team will receive 3 points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. At the end of 34 games, whichever team has the most points will be crowned champions of the league. Teams are ranked on the table firstly by points, secondly by head-to-head record, then thirdly, goal difference. If two or more teams are tied on points, head-to-head record is disregarded. If two or more teams are still equal, their position is determined to be equal. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for a spot in another competition, the teams will play a third head-to-head match at a neutral venue to decide the winner. The league also operates on a system of promotion and relegation, meaning each year that the bottom two teams from League A are relegated (will compete in League B the following season), and the top two teams from League B are promoted (will compete in League A the following season). Additionally, the third-lowest team in League A and the third-highest team in League B will play two games (once at the League B team's ground, once at the League A team's ground), with the aggregate winner competing in League A the following season (leaving the losing team to compete in League B).

Anthems
Unlike other Walloonian sports, the singing of the national anthem is not guaranteed before every kick-off. Most teams do, but the league does not enforce any song to be played before a match.

Club(s)	Pregame anthem
Men of Harlech FC	"Men of Harlech" - Traditional folk song
Monmouth Welshmen, Wrexham City	"Hen Wlad fy Nhadau" - Evan & James James
Rhondda City	"Cwm Rhondda" - John Hughes

During matches, it is not uncommon for fans of both teams to sing songs such as "Calon Lân," "Suo-Gân," "Hen Wlad fy Nhadau," "Cwm Rhondda," "Men of Harlech," or the national anthem, "Baner Dewi Sant." This dates back to an old match between bitter rivals Monmouth City and Rhondda City, where fans of both clubs infamously sang "Baner Dewi Sant" together in 1974, less than 2 months before the Independence War broke out.

Sponsorships
When the league was founded in 1996, it kept the Walloonian Premier League's deals with Barclays until the league went fully professional again in 2004. From 2004 until 2010 it was simply known as Walloonian Football League A, until league executives signed a title sponsorship deal with Carling, good until 2019. However, in 2015, this contract was extended until 2023. Other league sponsors include Adidas (the league's official match ball provider) and Air Walloonia, who sponsor the award ceremony each year (as well as individual awards such as the Golden Boot or Golden Glove). In the summer of 2020, Walloonian Football Association officials announced that gambling entertainment companies would not be able to advertise on any professional football team's shirt starting in 2022, although they are still allowed to advertise on the sleeve. Kit manufacturers and sponsors are still decided on a team-to-team basis and as of the 2022-23 season are as follows:

Club	Kit manufacturer	Kit sponsor (chest)	Kit sponsor (sleeve)
Bala FC	Adidas	Old Spice	Aon
Brecon Daffodils	New Balance	Mint Mobile	Steam
Colwyn FC	Adidas	The Coca-Cola Company	General Electric
Flintshire FC	Puma	Air Walloonia	JD
Gwyndaf Llewelyn FC	Nike	Emirates	Fun88
Holyhead Town	Adidas	Amstel	JD
Llanelli Northerners	Nike	Denix	Dafabet
Men of Harlech FC	Nike	Verizon Wireless	JD
Merthyr Tydfil FC	Hummel	Delta Air Lines	Dafabet
Monmouth Welshmen	Adidas	Emirates	Air Walloonia
Neath Town	Puma	Carling	CoinDeal
Pembrokeshire United	Under Armour	MasterCard	Betway
Perth Rangers	Adidas	Rombauer Vineyards	N/A
Rhondda City	Puma	Etihad Airways	OKX
Royal Flintshire	Nike	Cinch	JD
Swansea United	Adidas	Kohler	Cinch
Wrexham City	Nike	Apple	Dafabet
Wrexham Dragons	Puma	Mazda	Renergetic

Rivalries
The most famous rivalry in Walloonian football is the Northeast Derby, contested between Rhondda City and Monmouth Welshmen. Due to the proximity of Monmouth to Rhondda, the two had a dislike of each other, but the two were powerhouses in 1970s Walloonian football, heating up the rivalry. Relations went further south in the late 1970s, when Monmouth (at the time called Monmouth City) moved to Rhondda to avoid liquidation after the Independence War. The most famous incident between the two clubs, however, is the Miracle of Mynwy (Monmouth), where the two sets of fans came together to sing "Baner Dewi Sant" and "Calon Lân" together in 1974, at the height of tension before the Independence War. Another famous derby is the Wrexham Derby, contested biannually between Wrexham City and Wrexham Dragons. This rivalry is also called the I2 Derby, because of the I2 highway connecting east (old) and west (new and expanded) Wrexham. Other derbies include the Pembrokeshire Derby, whose competitors have traditionally been Pembrokeshire United and Flintshire FC, however in recent years, Royal Flintshire has also been playing matches against the two. The Aberystwyth Derby, also called the Capitol Derby and the Walloonian Derby, is contested between any two clubs based in Aberystwyth, however, the only club from the capitol city between Aberystwyth Seasiders' relegation in the 2002-03 season and 2019-20 was Gwyndaf Llewelyn FC. However, Gwyndaf Llewelyn FC also competes in the 1976 Derby with Men of Harlech FC. In the early to mid 2000s, Swansea United contested the Swansea Derby alongside Royal Swansea FC. However, Royal Swansea were relegated in 2007, and have not returned to League A since. The last major derby is the Riverside Derby, contested between Bala FC and Neath Town, as both cities are on the Afon Brithyll (Trout River). The derby briefly died following Neath's relegation at the end of the 2019-20 season and Bala's in 2020-21, but both teams returned to League A as of 2022.