With determined former top-flight clubs and ambitious up and comers, the 2024/25 JD Cymru South season should be as competitive as ever.
After two seasons in the JD Cymru Premier, Pontypridd United are back in the second tier after being relegated on the final day of last season.
Experienced boss Gavin Allen is still in charge at USW Sports Park, but several key names have departed over the summer including captain Clayton Green, goalkeeper George Ratcliffe and top scorer Ben Ahmun.
Nonetheless, the Dragons will still be targeting an immediate return to the top-flight following the arrival of Jamie Veale and Ash Evans, while new forward Liam Eason has netted 28 goals in the JD Cymru South for Cambrian United over the last two seasons.
JD Cymru South fixtures
Llanelli Town will also have title hopes again after finishing second behind champions Briton Ferry Llansawel last term.
Lee John has kept the bulk of his squad together – although the departures of Miles John and Josh Allen will have been disappointing – while adding the likes of Theo Wharton, Lewis Iles and Henry Jones.
But perhaps the Reds’ best piece of business has been keeping hold of Ethan Cann, who scored 15 league goals last season and earned a call-up to the Cymru C squad.
Ammanford were the surprise package in the JD Cymru South last season as they achieved a third-place finish after only narrowing avoiding relegation the year before.
Gruff Harrison is the longest-serving manager in the division – he will clock 12 years in charge in December – and he has kept mostly the same squad that have taken impressive strides in recent years.
Harrison has focused on defence in his summer recruitment, with centre-backs Chris Bell, Callum Jones and Harrison Lewis all coming through the door at the Recreation Ground.
Newport City have caught the eye in the transfer window since their promotion through the play-offs following a second place finish in the Ardal South East last term.
Former Barry Town United trio Luke Cooper, Nat Jarvis and Josh Graham have all joined, as have Miles John and Lathan Garrett who had impressive campaigns in the JD Cymru South for Llanelli Town and Caerau Ely respectively last season.
They joined an already talented squad which also lifted the Dragon Signs Amateur Trophy last season with a thrilling 5-4 win over Penrhyncoch in the final.
However, it was Trethomas Bluebirds who claimed the Ardal South East title after losing just two league games and scoring 100 goals.
Mark Dunford’s men will now get a well-deserved opportunity in the JD Cymru South after several impressive seasons in the third tier – plus a Dragon Signs Amateur Trophy triumph in 2023.
Dunford has largely trusted his existing squad to make the step up, but has brought in former Cymru U17 goalkeeper Cameron Clarke and centre-back Dave Vincent who has plenty of experience at this level.
Ardal South West champions Penrhiwceiber Rangers have also kept the bulk of their side together following promotion.
Long-serving striker Warren Jones will be key after netting 16 league goals last season, while Jarrad Welch and new signing Henry Young both have experience in the JD Cymru South in recent years.
It has been an impressive rise for Penrhiwceiber, who were playing in the fourth tier of Welsh football four years ago.
The newly-promoted sides will be able to take inspiration from Caerau Ely, who finished fifth in the JD Cymru South last season following promotion the previous year.
Dean Wheeler earned the division’s Manager of the Season award as a result and he has managed to keep hold of his key players throughout the summer – except for Lathan Garrett who has joined Newport City.
Only Briton Ferry Llansawel and Llanelli Town scored more than Caerau Ely’s 72 goals last season, 17 of which came from former Swansea City academy prospect Brandon Griffiths.
Baglan Dragons also impressed in their first season in the JD Cymru South following promotion, competing in the top half for much of the campaign before a 10th-place finish.
Goalkeeper Mathew Stanton stood out by scoring two goals last season and he has already made headlines in the new campaign by saving a penalty in the shootout to help knock Swansea City out of the Nathaniel MG Cup.
At the other end of the pitch, Tom Davies starred with 15 league goals last term and earned a call up to the Tîm Rhanbarthol Cymru squad alongside Dragons captain Lewis Holmes.
There has been a rebrand in the Rhondda over the summer as Cambrian & Clydach Vale have become Cambrian United following a fourth-place finish last season.
The Cam Army were unbeaten in their final seven league matches of the campaign and finished with the best defence in the division, so the foundations are there for another strong season.
There have been plenty of ins and outs over the summer, with Dai Thomas, Cameron Keetch and Cam Strinati departing after key contributions in recent seasons, while Josh Allen, Liam Warman and Jack Fox have all arrived.
Cwmbran Celtic striker Alex Bonthron was last season’s JD Cymru South golden boot winner with 30 goals and he will once again be central to his side’s hopes in the new campaign.
There is a new man in the dugout at Celtic Park as former Simon Berry has taken the reins following the departure of James Kinsella.
Lewis Iles and Harrison Lewis have both exited the club over the summer, but Isaac Powell and Jordan Meaney are back in yellow after spells away.
Carmarthen Town lost only one of their first 10 league matches last season but ultimately may have been disappointed with a sixth-place finish.
The Old Gold have lost their captain as Greg Walters has joined Haverfordwest County but Cam Strinati, Ceri Morgan and Liam Reed have all made the switch from Cambrian United.
Josh Bull is another new arrival, targeting his third consecutive JD Cymru South title win after lifting the trophy with Barry Town United and Briton Ferry Llansawel in the last two years.
Afan Lido will also have ambitions of climbing back up the table after they slipped to a seventh-place finish last season.
Central to their success will be 18-year-old Ieuan Owen, who notched 15 league goals last season and was nominated for the division’s Young Player of the Season award.
Meanwhile, Veteran winger Jon Hood is back at the club after 12 years away and he got off the mark from the penalty spot in the Nathaniel MG Cup last weekend.
Llantwit Major won the JD Cymru South title in 2022 but only avoided relegation from the division on the final day of last season.
Centre-back Chris Bell scored in the 3-0 away win at Carmarthen that helped keep them up, but he has made the switch to Ammanford. The last man to do that was goalkeeper Jack Lansdown a year ago, who swiftly returned to the Major in January and proved vital in their survival bid.
Nathan Renfree has been recruited from third tier Pontyclun and he has already made his mark with a stunning free-kick against Newport City in the Nathaniel MG Cup last weekend.
Taffs Well only survived relegation on goal difference last season, so improvement will be needed if they are steer clear of danger this time around.
Losing promising teenage winger Ellis Sage to top-flight Briton Ferry Llansawel is therefore a blow, while more goals are required after defender Vaughn Fowler finished as the team’s top scorer last term with seven.
The return of David Lyon should help in that regard, as the winger struck 27 league goals in two years for the Wellmen before spells at Llanelli Town and Goytre AFC last season.
In Andy Hill, Trefelin have a former promotion-winning manager in their dugout and he will have big plans at Ynys Park to take the team up the table after their 11th-place finish last season.
Hill has focused on experience with his summer recruitment, as Swansea City icon Lee Trundle, former Welsh international Shaun MacDonald and ex-Cardiff Met midfielder Charlie Corsby have all joined.
There is plenty of promising talent in the squad too, including 19-year-old Roan Piper who claimed last season’s JD Cymru South Young Player of the Season award after an 18-goal haul.
Goytre United possess the JD Cymru South’s youngest manager in Laurie Marsh, but the 31-year-old guided his side to an impressive eighth-place finish last season.
Wins over Llanelli Town and Caerau Ely, the latter a 6-2 triumph, in the closing weeks of the campaign indicate the potential that Marsh’s side have.
19 goals from Keane Watts played a significant part in the team’s success, and Brad Flay, Kyle Williams and Cameron Harris have all arrived to support him in attack.
