SUPER 10 OR BUST NEXT SEASON

By Dave Jones on May 16, 09 08:37 PM

CLUBS that fail to qualify for the Welsh Premier's new "Super 10" next year will be relegated to the feeder leagues, reports www.welsh-premier.com
In a move that will set the alarm bells ringing around some of the smaller clubs, the FAW is understood to have decided that their will be no second tier in the new-look top flight, so clubs that fail to make the grade will be sent to the Cymru Alliance or Welsh League Division One at the end of the 2009/10 campaign.
Selection for the new 'elite' league will be based on the FAW's domestic licencing criteria, with league position only coming into play if more than 10 clubs can meet licence requirements.
The criteria will broadly resemble those that the clubs currently have to satisfy in order to play in Europe - and only seven clubs were able to gain the FAW's Uefa licence this year.
Aberystwyth Town, Bangor City, Carmarthen Town, Llanelli, Port Talbot Town, Rhyl and The New Saints were successful and are likely to form the core of the Super 10, although a club's own stadium is not necessarily part of the Uefa licence application.
That would leave 11 clubs scrambling for the remaining three places to avoid facing the 2010/11 season in the feeder system.
It also means that promoted clubs such as Bala Town and ENTO Aberaman, if they are successful in their appeal, could find their sojourn in the top flight a brief one.