Page 27 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.1(1) 2021-22

Genero Adran League

A new era for domestic football is set to begin this week as a major restructure sees the launch of
the Genero Adran Leagues.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has unveiled the name, structure and brand
identity of the leagues signalling a new chapter for the women’s game in Wales.
The new leagues consist of an eight-team top tier, the Adran Premier, a regional second
tier with eight teams competing in both the Adran North and Adran South and an entirely new U19s
regional league- with 22 teams forming the Adran North U19s and Adran South U19s.
The decision has been made to remove ‘women’s’ from the rebranded league name to
create parity across all FAW leagues, making Wales only the third country in Europe to make such
a move and the first in the UK. ‘Adran’ continues the FAW’s commitment to using the Welsh
language, meaning ‘division’.
The Adran Leagues have been sponsored by Genero, a vibrant production and creative
events agency that has been established for 20 years. The two-year deal between Genero and the
Adran Leagues is the most lucrative sponsorship of women’s domestic football in Wales to date.
Genero’s Managing Director, Peter Leckie, said of the sponsorship: “At Genero we are
passionate about creating positive change and this is an exciting new chapter for the domestic game
in Wales and one we are proud to be a part of.”
Players, fans and media were all involved in the rebranding of the league, taking part in
focus groups and forums to inform the new name and brand with their own experience, the
inspiration for a league launch film which calls out stereotypes and historical gendering of the
game.
Lowri Roberts, head of women’s football at the FAW, said: “We want our players to feel
empowered every time they step onto the
pitch. Football has exactly the same rules no PREMIER DIVISION P W D L F A Pts GD
matter what gender you identify as, what ABERYSTWYTH TOWN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
country you’re from or what language you BARRY TOWN UTD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
speak. In this new chapter for the domestic CARDIFF CITY F.C. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
game in Wales, we want to make a statement CARDIFF MET WOMEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
that by removing ‘women’s’ from the league PONTYPRIDD TOWN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
name, the game remains exactly the same – PORT TALBOT TOWN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
it’s football. SWANSEA CITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
“The new structure will create THE NEW SAINTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
clearer pathways, improved provision and
games programmes, and support for players
allowing us to better nurture our footballing
talent in Wales. This gives our players a NORTH DIVISION P W D L F A Pts 0
stronger platform to achieve their potential. AIRBUS UK BROUGHTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
In turn, this will serve both the Welsh BETHEL LADIES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
representative in the UEFA Women’s CONNAH'S QUAY NOMADS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Champions League and Cymru’s ambitions to DENBIGH TOWN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
qualify for a major international tournament.” LLANDUDNO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
In the Adran Premier, eight teams LLANFAIR UTD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- Cardiff Met, Cardiff City, Swansea City, Port PWLLHELI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Talbot Town, The New Saints, Aberystwyth WREXHAM 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Town, Pontypridd Town and Barry Town
United - play home and away. After these 14
matches, the top four clubs then play against SOUTH DIVISION P W D L F A Pts GD
each other and the same for the bottom four ABERGAVENNY WOMEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
clubs, both home and away. The Adran BRITON FERRY LLANSAWEL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Premier champion will represent Wales in CALDICOT TOWN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The CARDIFF BLUEBELLES 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
team finishing 8th will be relegated to the CASCADE YC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Adran South / North. MERTHYR TOWN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
The eight Adran South and Adran SWANSEA UNIVERSITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TALYCOPA
North teams will play home and away. The 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
North and South winners will compete in a
play off with the winner promoted to the
Adran Premier.
Issue no. 1 - 2 September 2021 news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk