Cardiff City, Newport County, Swansea City, and Wrexham wait on FA for European boost | OneFootball

The four Welsh EFL clubs are set to compete in the Welsh League Cup, with the winner qualifying for Europe

The four Welsh EFL clubs are moving closer to competing in a revamped Welsh League Cup, with the winners securing a place in the Europa Conference League.

Swansea City, Cardiff City, Newport County and Wrexham have been working with the Football Association of Wales (FAW) under proposals entitled Prosiect Cymru (Project Wales) which could see them compete in a 16-team Welsh League Cup alongside the 12 sides in the Cymru Premier.

The proposals, which first emerged in October, are moving closer, and the Welsh EFL clubs now just need approval from the FA to turn their dreams of qualifying for European football into a reality.

Welsh EFL clubs on brink of competing in the Europa Conference League

Under proposals outlined by the FAW, the Welsh League Cup would start next season and would consist of 16 teams, with four single-legged knockout games, meaning it wouldn't add too many fixtures to what's an already packed schedule for the EFL clubs.

However, if the FA were to give this competition the green light, it would mean that the Welsh EFL sides wouldn't be able to qualify for European competitions through the FA Cup or the EFL club, like Swansea did in 2013 after lifting the EFL Cup.

As per the BBC, the four clubs are "totally committed to playing in the English system" and Prosiect Cymru would not jeopardise their status in the English pyramid, something the Welsh EFL clubs were keen to avoid.

Wales are currently 49th out of 55 nations in UEFA's coefficient ranking, and it is hoped that a Welsh EFL club would be able to help improve that ranking should they qualify for the Europa Conference League.

If the coefficient improves, it means that there could be more spots available for Welsh clubs to qualify through the Cymru Premier, and while they could lose out on qualifying through the Welsh League Cup to an EFL side, there would be more chances to qualify through the league, meaning it benefits them too.

There's also the added bonus of bigger attendances for the Cymru Premier sides should they draw an EFL club at home, and the chance to qualify for European football is a huge incentive to EFL clubs who have little to no chance of doing so through the English system.

After months of talks, things are moving closer and the only thing needed now is approval from the FA.

The Welsh League Cup is an attractive proposition for EFL clubs

With only four games needed to win the cup, a revamped Welsh League Cup looks like an easy way for Welsh EFL clubs to qualify for the Europa Conference League.

However, the one sticking point could be fixture congestion, as Welsh League Cup games, qualifying games and Europa Conference League games mean that the EFL side that qualifies could easily play more than 60 games a season.

There is a precedent of EFL sides playing in Europe with Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic playing in the Europa League during the 2011/12 and 2013/14 seasons respectively, so it shows that it can be done.

It remains to be seen what the English EFL clubs think about this, but for the Welsh clubs, this looks to be an exciting opportunity and a rare chance to play European football.

Wales' EFL clubs used to qualify via the Welsh Cup before this was stopped in 1995, so this isn't new and the potential issues this throws up with fixture congestion have been worked around previously.

The four Welsh EFL clubs are set to benefit if the FA gives them the green light to compete in the Welsh League Cup, and they'll be hoping a deal is agreed in the near future to play in the revamped competition next season.