Cardiff City Ladies are to be renamed Gwalia United from next season.
Situated in the Southern Premier Division, the third tier of the English women’s football pyramid, the club represents Wales as the only one.
After taking over the team in September of last year, Cardiff City Ladies established a long-term goal of competing in the Women’s Super League.
They claim that the process of achieving that aim will include the name change.
Gwalia, a mediaeval appellation for Wales, has been embraced this season by Gwalia Lightning, one of the two elite women’s rugby teams.
According to a club release, “This is laying the groundwork for an extraordinary journey towards competing in the Women’s Super League against the might of teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool.”
“Our aspirations reach beyond the pitch as we strive to represent Wales with pride at the club level against the elite of English football, sparking a new era of unity, heritage, excellence, pride, resilience and inclusion.”
Twelve months after being demoted, Cardiff City Ladies made a comeback to the Southern Premier Division by winning the FA Women’s National League Division One South West title the previous year.
Within the 12-team division, they are presently ranked eighth.
A host of Wales internationals, including Sophie Ingle and Jess Fishlock, were once players for the club.
Cardiff City Ladies should not be confused with Cardiff City Women, the men’s Championship club’s domestic league and cup winners in Wales.
The Dragons23 group, which is made up of businesspeople Damien Singh and Julian Jenkins, took them over the previous year.
Canva is an internet and social media graphics company that is reputedly valued at over $20 billion. Singh is the company’s chief financial officer.
Since the club’s founding in 1975, Cardiff City Ladies—who have played in the top division of English football twice before—have gone by a number of names.
On June 1, 2024, their present name—adopted in 1999—will formally change to Gwalia United.
