 | |
| Founded | 1877 |
|---|---|
| Region |  Wales |
| Number of teams | 253 |
| Qualifier for | UEFA Conference League |
| Current champions | Connah's Quay Nomads (2 titles) |
| Most successful club(s) | Wrexham (23 titles) |
 2024–25 Welsh Cup | |
The FAW Welsh Cup (Welsh: Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the most prestigious of the cup competitions in domestic Welsh association football.
The Football Association of Wales (FAW) is the organising body of this competition, which has been run (except during the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic) every year since its inception in 1877–78.[1]
In the early years of organised football in Wales, football was very much the sport of north Wales rather than the rugby union playing south – the FAW was founded in Wrexham in 1876, and Wrexham remained the site of the FAW's head office until 1986; it was not until 1912 that a southern team, Cardiff City, won the Welsh Cup for the first time.
The winning team qualifies to play in the following season's UEFA Conference League (previously teams qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, which was discontinued in 1999, and until 2021, qualified for the UEFA Europa League).
- ^ "Welsh Cup Notes". Welsh Football Data Archive. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2011.