Cymru Premier

The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. It was founded in 1992, as the first league representing all of Wales. Prior to 2002, the league was known as the League of Wales (LoW), but changed its name as part of a sponsorship deal to the Welsh Premier League. The league was rebranded as the Cymru Premier for the 2019–20 season. Though formed relatively recently, the league contains some of the oldest clubs in world football. Eleven current or former members of the league were founded in the 1870s or 1880s, with many more formed before the end of the 19th century. The vast majority of its clubs are still owned and run by the local community or by people from the area.

It operates on a promotion and relegation system with Tier 2 of the Welsh football league system, the Cymru North and Cymru South leagues. The Cymru Premier League is currently contested by 12 teams, with each team playing each other home and away during the first phase. At the end of this period the league splits into two divisions, with the top 6 teams going on to the Championship Conference, and the bottom 6 teams into the Play-Off Conference. Each team playing each other a further two times, home and away, with the champion being decided by the team with the most points in the Championship Conference, and the lowest two teams in Play-Off Conference relegated. Seasons usually run from August to May, with each team playing 32 matches in total. It is due to expand to 16 teams in 2026–27 and with a changed format.