More drama and rivalries await as the 2026/27 Novira Cymru North campaign kicks off this weekend.
Bala Town will undoubtedly be among the favourites to lift the Novira Cymru North title and secure an immediate return to the Novira Cymru Premier after their relegation last season.
Manager Steve Fisher has expressed his determination to bring Bala straight back up to the top-flight and he will have the majority of his squad from last season alongside him to try and complete that task as Bala prepare for their first season in the second tier for 18 years.
Attacking duo Cameron Ferguson and Hussein Mehasseb, along with goalkeeper Joel Torrance are notable departures from Maes Tegid, but the Lakesiders have had plenty of exciting arrivals. It would be no surprise to see new attacking trio Craig Lindfield, Jamie Cumming and Mike Hayes amongst the goals given their pedigree in Welsh football. Jake Phillips and Osebi Abadaki arrive from Novira Cymru Premier side Flint Town United, while Naim Arsan and Ollie Shannon return to the club after two seasons away.
2026/27 Novira Cymru North fixtures
Newtown were the best of the rest last season, finishing fourth behind promoted clubs Llandudno, Airbus UK Broughton and Holywell Town. A dip in form towards the end of last season ended their promotion hopes, but the Robins will be eager to claim a top three spot this time around.
Jay Owen, who won the Novira Cymru Premier title as a player, takes the reins as manager following Nathan Leonard’s departure and his only two signings so far have been midfielder Sean Griffiths, who joins from nearby Guilsfield, and the returning Hanoch Boakye.
The majority of the squad who finished fourth last season have committed to this new era at Latham Park, including star forward Jamie Hyne, who scored 18 league goals in the 2025/26 campaign. Rob Evans and Iwan Roberts headline the departures.
Excitement is building around the return of Bangor City 1876 to the Novira Cymru North this season following their promotion from the Ardal North West. Mike Johnston’s side won the third tier title in dominant fashion, scoring 123 goals in total and losing just one game.
There will be hopes for some large crowds at the Bangor City Stadium this season, starting with their league opener against Bala Town. Bangor attracted the largest Welsh domestic crowd last season, with 2,814 fans attending their FAW Welsh Cup quarter-final tie against Caerau Ely.
New signings Blaine Hudson, Haci Ozlu and Guto Williams add to the already-experienced Bangor squad, which features dynamic attacking duo Corrig McGonigle and three-time Novira Cymru Premier winner Declan McManus, who many expect will spearhead Bangor towards another promotion push this season.
Rhyl 1879 sprung a surprise with their impressive fifth-place finish in their first season back in the Novira Cymru North, while the Lilywhites also enjoyed an epic FAW Welsh Cup run, where they were narrowly beaten by eventual winners Caernarfon Town in the semi-finals.
Paul Moore has transitioned Rhyl into a much younger side this season as Joel Giblin, Joe Ly, Luka Graham, Brad Barnes and Theo Farquharson, who are all aged 23 or under, have signed for the club.
Rhyl’s frontline has also been bolstered with the arrivals of former Flint Town United star Josh Jones, former Buckley Town talisman Max Moore and experienced English non-league striker Dan Cockerline.
It has been a memorable summer for Denbigh Town after Central Park played host to the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, providing the club with an opportunity to showcase their fantastic facilities on the international stage.
Denbigh, who finished eighth last season, bid farewell to forward duo Owen Davies and Gwion Dafydd, but manager Dewi Llion has recruited two exciting prospects from outside of Wales. Former Everton academy star Tom Kelly arrives after a four-year spell with Albion SC Colorado in the United States and Ffranc Vaughan Evans joins from EFL side Crewe Alexandra. The pair will hope to combine well with fan favourite Nathan Brown, who bagged 24 goal contributions last season.
Elsewhere, Osian Davies returns to Central Park after the end of his 12-year tenure with Vale of Clwyd derby rivals Ruthin Town, with Harry Martin also following suit. Toby Gallagher-Keenan and Elliott Orton sign from Gresford Athletic and Hugh Holland joins from Buckley Town in what is turning into be a youtful Denbigh ahead of the new season.
After suffering play-off heartbreak in two consecutive seasons, Llanuwchllyn finally earned promotion to the Novira Cymru North and can look forward to their debut season in the second tier.
Llanuwchllyn won the Ardal North East title by an impressive 13-point margin, scoring 108 goals en route to silverware. Midfielder Ilan Ap Gareth and striker James Davies, who have joined the club from Holywell Town and Airbus UK Broughton, have both won the Novira Cymru North title before, so there is reason to be confident for more goals for the newly-promoted side this season.
Llanuwchllyn can also look forward to exciting local derbies against Bala Town, with the two separated by just five miles.
Llanuwchllyn’s first test will be a trip to Brickfield Rangers, who proved doubters wrong with a solid 10th-place finish in their first ever Novira Cymru North campaign.
Brickfield were one of only four teams to take points off eventual runaway champions Llandudno last season before victory over promoted Holywell Town on the final day capped off a strong season for Gary Wilson’s side.
Wilson is now heading into his seventh season as Brickfield manager and it could be one of his most fascinating to date as he has brought in former Cymru U19 international Rob Evans, goalkeeper Carl Jones, who earned promotion with Bangor, and Sam Flory, who scored nine league goals for Guilsfield last season.
Newly-promoted Porthmadog secured a return to the Novira Cymru North after two seasons away with a 3-0 win over Knighton Town in the Ardal North Play-Off.
Loanee Osian Evans scored twice for Porthmadog in that play-off win, but he has now returned to his parent club Caernarfon Town. However, Port have secured the signatures of former Cofis Gruff John and Steffan Alford, while young forwards Gwion Dafydd and Dylan Summers-Jones will look to provide the firepower in attack following Evans’ departure.
Other new signings include Jac Humphreys, Sam Thomas, Luke Baum, Math Jones and Tom Mahoney, while there are currently no departures from Y Traeth so far, meaning manager Chris Jones has a committed squad ready to try and consolidate their Novira Cymru North status.
Porthmadog begin their campaign with a trip to Penrhyncoch, who flirted with relegation for most of last season before six wins from their final eight games eased all nerves.
Dan Owen starred for Penrhyncoch last season, but his bright form saw him snapped up by Aberystwyth Town. Tomos Evans, Ifan Burrell, Dion Phillips and Jake Jones have also departed the club. We are yet to see announcements of any new arrivals for the Roosters and they are expected to be battling at the lower end of the table once again.
Ruthin Town finished bottom of the Novira Cymru North last season after earning just 23 points, but were spared a drop to the third tier following Flint Mountain’s elected relegation from the division.
Manager Colin Caton can therefore look forward to a return to his beloved Bala Town – a club he managed for 22 years and led to eight trophies. Caton is no stranger to rebuilding sides and will hope to use his vast experience to steer Ruthin away from another relegation battle.
Mitchell Williams and Rian O’Riordan are Caton’s new recruits after impressive performances in the league for Gresford Athletic and Flint Mountain respectively last season, but Ruthin will have to adapt to life without striker Llyr Morris, who departed the club he originally joined at just 11 years old.
Guilsfield claimed sixth-place last season and maintained their record of finishing in the top half of every edition of the Novira Cymru North so far. However, the Guils won only five league matches post-Christmas, with their strong performances early on proving key to their solid table finish.
Striker Iwan Matthews has departed Clos Mytton to join third-tier outfit Llanrhaeadr, but Billy Clarke has arrived from the same club and will be hoping to fill the void after scoring 11 goals in the Ardal North East last season.
Experience inbetween the sticks is not an issue as Mike Jones joins the Powys side from Newtown. Joe Haycock and Ellis Turner have also returned to the club after brief spells at Berriew and Whitchurch Alport respectively.
Mold Alexandra were standout performers at the end of last season, winning five consecutive games to secure a top half finish.
Rhys Nash has joined the club from Colwyn Bay and he will play alongside his brother and current Mold captain Henry Nash. The return of proven scorer Danny Warren is a significant boost for Mold after he bagged 16 league goals to help steer Airbus to promotion last season, meaning we could see a lethal partnership formed between him and current Mold number nine Owen Cordiner.
Luca Hogan and Kieran Owens have arrived from FC Mountain and Harry Cartwright has signed on a permanent deal from Flint Town United after he impressed in his loan spell last season.
Fellow Flintshire club Buckley Town suffered their worst ever Novira Cymru North finish last season, placing 13th. Outspoken manager Asa Hamilton departed the club following the conclusion and he has now been replaced by former Ruthin and Gresford boss Dave Evans.
Evans has brought along Paul Johnson, Reagan Nicholads and Billy Nicholas with him from Gresford, while Dylan Proctor arrives from Llandudno and is a key replacement in attack following Max Moore’s switch to Rhyl 1879.
Joe Sullivan provides extra experience in defence and the Bucks have also secured the loan signing of The New Saints goalkeeper Bryn Owen.
There is also a new era beginning at Caersws as former chairman Neil Lewis has been appointed permanent boss following his interim spell last season.
The Bluebirds finished in a respectable ninth-place last season, but an inconsistent run of results was a common theme. Gavin Rowlands is the only announced summer signing for Caersws and he will link up with his brother Tommy Rowlands, who was the club’s top scorer in the Novira Cymru North last season with 11 goals.
Young goalkeeper Max Williams has committed to another season at Caersws after keeping 11 clean sheets in his breakthrough campaign, while Harry and Dillon Browne are the only two departures after their transfers to Aberystwyth Town.
Holyhead Hotspur had to wait almost three months for their first league win last season, but a resurgence saw them finish in 11th-place and well away from the relegation zone.
Forward Connor Owen made himself known to the division as his outstanding 17-goal campaign led to him receiving the Novira Cymru North Young Player of the Season award.
Holyhead announced they have retained all of their squad for the upcoming season and they have strengthened their ranks with the signings of Sam Jones from Bangor 1876 and Byron Davis from Felinheli.
It has been a summer full of change for Gresford Athletic following several first-team departures. The Colliers finished 15th last season, just five points above bottom side Ruthin, so new manager Anthony Weaver will hope to bring stability and push the club further up the table this season.
Notable departures from Gresford include former captain Paul Johnson, playmaker Haci Ozlu and goalkeeper Lewis Dutton. However, Colwyn Bay loanee Ryley Berry, who Weaver previously worked with at the Connah’s Quay Nomads academy, will be an exciting replacement for Dutton, while Konstantin Kostadinov will provide quality up front after signing on loan from The New Saints.
Weaver has also brought in Adam Newbold and Dom Maher from FC Mountain, former long-serving Rhydymwyn captain Connor Whelan and Luke Griffin, who missed the majority of last season with Llay Welfare through injury.
