Until 1995, Welsh clubs playing in the Welsh or English leagues were invited to play in the Welsh Cup. On occasion some English clubs, mostly teams from border areas (for example,
Chester City,
Crewe Alexandra,
Tranmere Rovers,
Hereford United and
Shrewsbury Town), were also invited to participate. However, in the event of an English club winning the Welsh Cup, they were not allowed to progress to the
European Cup Winners' Cup. Instead, the best placed Welsh club in the Welsh Cup competition would take the European place. From 1996 to 2011, only clubs playing in the
Welsh football league system were allowed to enter the Welsh Cup. This rule excluded the six Welsh clubs who played in the
English football league system:
Swansea City,
Colwyn Bay,
Merthyr Tydfil (replaced by
Merthyr Town),
Newport County,
Cardiff City and
Wrexham. On 20 April 2011, the Football Association of Wales invited these six clubs to rejoin the Welsh Cup for the
2011–12 season, but only Merthyr Town, Newport County and Wrexham accepted. In March 2012, UEFA stated that Welsh clubs playing in the
English football league system could not qualify for European competitions via the Welsh Cup but they could qualify via the English league and cup competitions, hence they were subsequently again excluded from the Welsh Cup. Colwyn Bay joined the Welsh league system in 2019, thus becoming eligible to compete in the Welsh Cup again. ==History==