FAW chief looks at changes to Cymru Premier

Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney has had his say on the future of the JD Cymru Premier.

A poll of nearly 3,000 people revealed that almost 75 per cent of supporters would like the Premier League expanded from 12 teams to 16.

The current 12-club league has been in place since the beginning of the 2010/11 campaign and isn’t universally popular.

It has sparked debate about what is the best * way forward for Wales’ national football league.

The poll of 2,768 people on social media site Twitter revealed that 3.2 per cent of fans would like to see the league trimmed to 10 teams.

Some 11.8 per cent would like to see it stay as it is, 10.8 per cent want a 14-team division and 74.2% want 16 clubs in the top flight.

Speaking to our sister paper The Daily Post, FAW CEO Mooney said: “I am really enjoying getting to know the Cymru Premier Division.

“I see big potential and I think we should do a full review over the next few months to design the very best league for the future.

“We are really in transformational times and we should create a roadmap for the league that enables it to reach its full potential whether it is 10 or 20 teams.

“The key questions must be- what do we want from the league?”

“Once that is answered, then the structure and details follow.

“We are open to whatever makes the boat go faster, we just need to agree the destination!”

Replying to the poll on Twitter Mike Harris owner of newly-crowned Cymru Premier champions The New Saints, raised come concerns about changes to the league.

He wrote: “There is no benefit in change if it’s not funded so all teams can be full time.

“Current system produces the maximum competition where there is something to play for all season.”

Welsh football blog The 94th minute said: “I would favour a 16-team league, however I feel a 14-team situation could be a happy medium for everyone.

“Play each other twice, and then have a split where teams play a further six league games to create a 32-game season.

“We could still have the European playoffs then.”