Fierce rivals Swansea City and Cardiff City meet on the Genero Adran Premier opening day on Sunday at the ThermaGlaze Ground (KO 17:15), with both teams hopeful of being in the thick of the title race.
Cardiff finished in second-place last year, four points behind eventual champions Wrexham, as their run of three consecutive titles came to an end. Noah Bushby is preparing for his first season in the dugout as Bluebirds boss after he was promoted from his assistant role to replace Iain Darbyshire. Bushby’s first game at the helm was last season’s Bute Energy Welsh Cup Final, which the Bluebirds won for the fifth year in a row.
Along with Darbyshire, revolutionary figures Ceryn Chamberlain, Lisa Owen, Megan Bowen and Mikayla Cook have also left the club. Bushby has therefore been busy this summer and has added seven new faces. Anna Houghton is perhaps the most familiar, joining from Cardiff Met, while former Cymru U19 international defender Ella Hilliard returns to the club. Irish winger Gillian Keenan, ex-Liverpool youngster Kate Oakley and well-travelled striker Haile Richards bolster the attacking options, while Mia Malone is a versatile midfielder and childhood City fan TJ Gauvain tightens the defence.
Swansea were forced to settle for a third-place finish in the Genero Adran Premier after a poor run of results in the Championship Conference ended any hopes of chasing the title. The Swans nearly finished the campaign with silverware, but squandered a three-goal lead in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup final before losing on penalties to Cardiff. Stacey John will be a key miss at Swansea, but Chloe Chivers, who scored 16 league goals last season, will be key if Yzzy Taylor’s side are to be amongst the leading pack.
Cardiff’s Bute Energy Welsh Cup final triumph was the sixth successive win against their arch rivals last season. The Bluebirds also triumphed in all four league meetings either side of a rampant 6-0 win in the Genero Adran Trophy quarter-finals.
Reigning Genero Adran Premier champions Wrexham begin their defence of the title against Aberystwyth Town at The Rock on Sunday (KO 14:00).
Wrexham were embroiled in a thrilling title race with Cardiff City for the majority of last season before a 4-1 win over their closest challengers confirmed their first ever top-flight title, adding a second major piece of silverware to their cabinet after the Red Dragons also won the Genero Adran Trophy in February.
Wrexham built on their domestic double and took their form into the UEFA Champions League, where Jenny Sugarman’s side became the first Welsh club to win in Europe for seven years after they beat Armenian outfit FC Pyunik 4-2 in July. Their European journey came to an end after a 4-1 defeat to Riga three days later, but the champions can certainly use that experience to their advantage as they prepare to defend their title.
The Genero Adran Premier champions have added Ipswich Town’s all-time record goalscorer Natasha Thomas to their ranks, with the Jamaican international bound to create a dangerous attacking threat alongside Faye Knox and 2025/26 golden boot winner and Player of the Season Katie Barker. Mikayla Cook, Bella Reidford, Lucy Farrell and Lydia Sallaway have all signed for Wrexham this summer, while Erin Lovett, Hannah Snape, Abbie Iddenden, Carra Jones and club record scorer Rosie Hughes among the notable departures.
Aberystwyth Town have finished in seventh-place for the last two Genero Adran Premier seasons, but Rhys Jon James has strengthened his side with the arrivals of Anna Phelps, Llio Henshaw and former Cymru U16 international Chloe Edwards. The Seasiders have also retained many of their stars from last season, including their top scorer Carys Bufton.
All three meetings between Wrexham and Aberystwyth across all competitions last season were not shy of goals as Wrexham claimed 5-0 and 3-2 league wins before prevailing on penalties in the Genero Adran Trophy quarter-finals following a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes.
Cardiff Met mark their return to the Genero Adran Premier with a home fixture against The New Saints at Cyncoed Stadium (KO 14:00).
Met secured an immediate return to the top-flight after storming to the Genero Adran South title before beating fellow second tier champions Connah’s Quay Nomads in the Promotion Play-Off final. Esme Kilburn-Thompson and Anna Houghton have since departed and will certainly be missed for the Archers after they scored a combined 19 goals in the Genero Adran South last season. Jonathan Nash’s side will be looking to prove any doubters wrong.
The New Saints finished fourth last season, but after an impressive transfer window, there is plenty of excitement as manager Kieran Lee-Birch begins his first full season in charge. Saints have bolstered their squad by earning the signatures of former Wrexham duo Abbie Iddenden and Hannah Snape as well as former Cardiff City trio Nieve Jenkins, Fiona Barry and the returning Helen Evans.
Cardiff Met and TNS last met in Phase One of the 2024/25 Genero Adran Premier, where Evans scored in 2-1 and 5-0 wins for Saints. The Oswestry-based side have lost just one of the last eight matches between the two teams.
Barry Town United host Briton Ferry Llansawel at Jenner Park (KO 14:00pm) after the two sides finished sixth and fifth respectively last season.
Briton Ferry pipped Barry to finish top of the Plate Conference last season after the Reds went unbeaten in all six matches in Phase Two. Mark Murison has been appointed the new manager, stepping up from the U15 side, and he has a proven squad ready to go this term.
Jade Crofts bagged 10 league goals in the 2025/26 campaign and she could be part of an eye-catching frontline which also features four-time Genero Adran Premier title winner Katy Hosford, who joins from Swansea City, and highly-rated 15-year-old Maizie Stiens, who has been capped by Cymru U16s.
Barry nearly matched Ferry by going unbeaten in last season’s Plate Conference, only to suffer a 4-3 defeat away to Aberystwyth on the final day. The Linnets will be hoping for an improved start to this campaign at Jenner Park after they conceded 17 goals in their first four home matches last season. Manager James Fishlock is preparing for his first full season in charge and he has added existing top-flight experience to his squad in the form of Amy Long, Niamh Duggan and Summer Kilby, while Holly Jones signs a permanent deal following a successful loan spell from Cardiff City.
Crofts scored four goals across three wins against Barry within the space of just over two months as Ferry claimed 4-1 and 3-0 victories in Phase One before a 2-0 win in the Genero Adran Trophy quarter-finals. Nothing could separate the two teams in Phase Two last season, with their clashes ending in 1-1 and 0-0 draws.
