The 2015–16 Welsh Premier League (known as the Dafabet Welsh Premier League for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th season of the Welsh Premier League, the highest football league within Wales since its establishment in 1992. The New Saints were the defending champions.
| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | The New Saints (10th title) |
| Relegated | Port Talbot Town Haverfordwest County |
| Champions League | The New Saints |
| Europa League | Bala Town Llandudno Connah's Quay Nomads |
| Matches | 180 |
| Goals | 529 (2.94 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  Chris Venables (20) |
| Biggest home win | Connah's Quay Nomads 5–0 Port Talbot Town (12 December 2015) The New Saints 5–0 Airbus UK Broughton (27 February 2016) Rhyl 5–0 Port Talbot Town (9 April 2016) |
| Biggest away win | Newtown 0–6 The New Saints (13 February 2016) |
| Longest unbeaten run | The New Saints (21) |
← 2014–15 2016–17 →
All statistics correct as of 9 April 2016. | |
Teams played each other twice on a home and away basis, before the league was split into two groups at the end of January 2016 – the top six and the bottom six.
Teams
edit
Cefn Druids and Prestatyn Town were relegated out of the Welsh Premier League the previous season, while Llandudno were promoted as winners of the Cymru Alliance and Haverfordwest County were promoted as winners of Welsh Football League Division One. It will be Llandudno's debut campaign in the league.
Stadia and locations
editPersonnel and kits
edit| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth |  Ian Hughes | Stuart Jones | Nike | Cambrian Tyres |
| Airbus UK | Andy Preece | Andy Jones | Macron | Gardner Aerospace |
| Bala | Colin Caton |  Conall Murtagh | Joma | Aykroyd's |
| Bangor | Neville Powell | Leon Clowes | Macron | Dafydd Hardy (home) Anglesey Sea Zoo (away) |
| Carmarthen | Mark Aizlewood | Kyle Bassett | Macron | Jeff White (home) Natwest Cymru (away) |
| Connah's Quay Nomads |  Andy Morrison | George Horan | Macron | Driving Force |
| Haverfordwest County | David Hughes | Dale Griffiths | Kappa | West Wales Properties.co.uk |
| Llandudno | Alan Morgan | Tom Dix | Adidas | The UPVC Outlet |
| Newtown | Chris Hughes | Matthew Cook | Givova | NEO/Elephant & Castle Hotel |
| Port Talbot | Andy Dyer | Liam McCreesh | Macron | Blanco's |
| Rhyl | Gareth Owen | Dean Keates | Adidas | VanTruck |
| TNS | Carl Darlington | Paul Harrison | Legea | PlanetHippo |
League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The New Saints (C) | 32 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 72 | 24 | +48 | 64 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round[b] |
| 2 | Bala Town | 32 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 48 | 27 | +21 | 57 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Llandudno | 32 | 15 | 7 | 10 | 53 | 46 | +7 | 52 | |
| 4 | Connah's Quay Nomads (O) | 32 | 15 | 3 | 14 | 50 | 42 | +8 | 48 | Qualification for the European competition play-offs[c] |
| 5 | Newtown | 32 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 46 | 54 | −8 | 42 | |
| 6 | Airbus UK Broughton | 32 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 46 | 55 | −9 | 42 | |
| 7 | Carmarthen Town | 32 | 14 | 5 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 47 | Qualification for the European competition play-offs[c] |
| 8 | Aberystwyth Town | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 51 | 47 | +4 | 46 | |
| 9 | Bangor City | 32 | 13 | 6 | 13 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 45 | |
| 10 | Port Talbot Town (R) | 32 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 39 | 56 | −17 | 39 | Relegation to Welsh Division One[d] |
| 11 | Rhyl | 32 | 5 | 12 | 15 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 27 | |
| 12 | Haverfordwest County (R) | 32 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 57 | −30 | 21 | Relegation to Welsh Division One[d] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Matches won; 5) Play-off.[2]
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ↑ Teams played each other twice (22 matches), before the league was split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last 10 matches.
- ↑ The New Saints qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2015–16 Welsh Cup. However, since they already qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed down the league.
- 1 2 Teams played for a spot in the Europa League first qualifying round.
- 1 2 Rhyl were spared from relegation as Port Talbot Town failed to obtain a FAW domestic licence.[1]
Results
editUEFA Europa League play-offs
editTeams who finished in positions fourth to seventh at the end of the regular season participated in play-offs to determine the third participant for the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League, who will qualify for the first qualifying round.[3]
Semi-finals
edit| Newtown | 1–2 | Airbus UK Broughton |
|---|---|---|
Sutton  36' |
Report | McGinn 14' (pen.), 38' (pen.) |
| Connah's Quay Nomads | 2–0 | Carmarthen Town |
|---|---|---|
| Rushton 5' Baynes 63' |
Report |
Final
editReferences
editThe league's rules are contained as a section of the Handbook of the Football Association of Wales.[4]
- ↑ "FAW Club Licensing Appeals Body". welshpremier.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ↑ "Premier League 2015/2016 - Season rules". Scoresway. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
- ↑ "Play-Offs rest on Cup Final Winner - Welsh Premier League". Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
- ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)