Wrexham v Cardiff - is it a derby?

BBC Sport:


Does a game between two clubs 138 miles apart really deserve to be called a derby?

Wrexham host Cardiff City in the EFL Cup fourth round on Tuesday in a game that has generated plenty of interest.

Cardiff fans consider Swansea City and Bristol City as their derby rivals, while Wrexham's traditional local rivals have been Chester City and Shrewsbury Town.

But despite the distance and it being 21 years since they last met, the sense of rivalry between the clubs runs deeper than games on the pitch.

This is north against south, the birthplace of Welsh football versus the capital city.

BBC Wales Sport looks at what gives a this grudge fixture more edge despite playing at opposite ends of the country.

Wrexham and Cardiff history

Formed in 1864, Wrexham are the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world.

Wrexham is acknowledged as the birthplace of Welsh football - the Football Association of Wales was founded at the town's Wynnstay Arms Hotel in 1876.

Founded some 35 years later - then as Riverside AFC - Cardiff City adopted their current name in 1908 and entered the Southern Football League in 1910 before joining the English Football League in 1920.

Both clubs have enjoyed notable cup success in the past and are the most successful sides in the Welsh Cup - Wrexham have won it 23 times and Cardiff 22.

The winners used to go into the European Cup Winners' Cup, the last season of which was in 1998-99.

Cardiff reached the semi-finals in 1967-68 and a year later beat Real Madrid in the club's greatest game at Ninian Park.

Wrexham made it to the quarter-finals in 1975-76, beaten by Anderlecht, though also claimed a famous win when they beat Porto 1-0 in 1984.

Both clubs have also claimed notable FA Cup wins over Arsenal.

Cardiff City's came in 1927 when they became the first and only Welsh club to win the FA Cup - one of their three final appearances.

Wrexham caused one of the competition's greatest shocks in 1992 when they beat the Gunners, who were the reigning First Division champions, 2-1 in the third round.

But the big point of difference is the Premier League and while the Bluebirds have twice reached that pinnacle, it remains only a dream for Wrexham's owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Reynolds, McElhenney & Tan - contrasting owners

Both are foreign owned clubs, but the contrast between the owners of Wrexham and Cardiff City could not be greater.

Hollywood stars Reynolds and McElhenney have inspired Wrexham to a dramatic and high-profile upturn in fortunes since their takeover in 2021.

Back-to-back-to-back automatic promotions have seen Wrexham rise from non-league wilderness to the Championship, one step from the Premier League.

Reynolds and McElhenney's involvement as well as the 'Welcome to Wrexham' documentary has seen the club's profile grow worldwide.

Malaysian billionaire Vincent Tan's controversial reign as Cardiff's owner began in 2010, during which time the club have veered from the Premier League to League One.

Tan changed the club logo but was forced into a U-turn over changing colours from blue to red in 2012 after a backlash from supporters.

His absence from Cardiff games - he has not attended a home match since 2023 - has led to many accusing him of a lack of interest.

North v south Wales rivalry

Their first Welsh Cup final was all the way back in 1920 but their paths did not cross in league action until 1975.

Decline at both clubs during the 1980s saw them drop to the Fourth Division but the Welsh Cup offered a silver lining and they locked horns in the 1988 Welsh Cup ifnal when Alan Curtis scored as Cardiff clinched a cup and promotion double.

The 1990s saw the clubs once again become regular acquaintances in the Football League, not least their promotion battle when Cardiff, under Eddie May, pipped Brian Flynn's Wrexham to the Third Division [now League One] title in 1993.

Wrexham gained revenge when Gary Bennett scored twice at the National Stadium to claim the last Welsh Cup that would include teams based in England.

However, meetings have since become rare - just four in the past 30 years - as their contrasts fluctuated.

The last league meeting was a League Two encounter at Ninian Park in March 2002 which Cardiff won 3-2, while the last game between them was an FAW Premier Cup semi-final in 2004 - Wrexham winning on penalties.

But the rivalry extends beyond the football pitch.

The Football Association of Wales took the controversial decision to move its headquarters from Wrexham to Cardiff in 1986, though both host the national team.

Wrexham's Stok Cae Ras - formerly the Racecourse Ground - is the world's oldest international football stadium which still hosts international matches.

The rivalry has now spread to the women's game given Cardiff City have beaten Wrexham in the final of the Bute Energy Welsh Cup in each of the last two seasons.

'Vying for number one in Wales'

Waynne Phillips and Nathan Blake came up against each other in Wrexham-Cardiff games.

Former Wrexham midfielder Phillips was part of the Wrexham side that beat Cardiff City in the Welsh Cup final in 1995.

"Cardiff is a derby because of the rivalry between two clubs - and it will always be that," he said.

"Until now Wrexham have been behind Cardiff for the last 20 years and Cardiff have played in the highest league.

"They will both argue the case but with everything that's going on, Wrexham is the biggest club.

"We haven't played each other too often over the last 15 or 20 years and this one is special because there's a place in the last eight up for grabs."

Ex-Wales international Nathan Blake was a member of the Cardiff side which pipped Wrexham to the Division Three title in 1994, scoring in a win at the Racecourse.

"Looking back at the nineties, it was a derby," Blake said.

"Joey Jones would get the Wrexham boys all wound up and both teams travelled to the other in big, big numbers and I think that says it all.

"There are four Football League clubs in Wales and they're all vying for the number one spot."

no, a minor rivalry at best

My favourite derby is the M4 derby with Reading

Last edited by llan bluebird on Mon Oct 27, 2025 6:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

North wales v south Wales maybe.

North wales v south Wales maybe.

Welsh Derby yes ....... but its simply a terminology for the news to report ..

I wouldnt call it a derby, I'd say more of a spectacle, whereas theres only 5 welsh teams in the English pyramid so it's more interesting than the average game when we play each other

No it’s not a derby nowhere near not even our rivals is Leeds and Newcastle a derby course not

Not for me, couldn't care less about them, just another game for me which hopefully we can win but I'd trade a loss tomorrow and Saturday if it means we win the next 2 league games

Never saw it as a derby even when we played them quite regularly in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
More like a bunch of north Wales Scousers.
Swans, the Wurzels and the Gas ahead of them, and in more modern times Reading, Brentford for a while, and even WBA.
It's just for the media to talk up and roll out the Hollywood stuff again.

Wrexhams big Derby is chester.

Wrexhams big Derby is chester.

Definitely. I remember working up in Wrexham around 76/77 and there was eff all to do there so ended up going to Wrexham's home matches and Chester was one of them. Even as a derby I could just roll up and pay at the gate.

Wrexhams big Derby is chester.

The article refers to their big derbies being Chester and Shrewsbury, with our's being Swansea and Bristol obviously.

I guess they probably expect to not play their two rivals because of how far they have gone up the pyramid. Chester have completely fallen away for example.

I see this as a rivalry personally, but not a derby.

Wrexhams big Derby is chester.

Definitely. I remember working up in Wrexham around 76/77 and there was eff all to do there so ended up going to Wrexham's home matches and Chester was one of them. Even as a derby I could just roll up and pay at the gate.

You could roll up just about anywhere & pay at the gate in 76/77.

Not a ‘derby’ for me, as that usually refers to a match between two teams from the same city or region who are fierce rivals. For example, the Bluebirds v Jacks, Liverpool v Everton, the Manchester ‘derby’ between Manchester City and Manchester United, the two Sheffield teams, etc.

The ‘Welsh clash’ label is of interest but Wrexham v Chester is their ‘derby’

definitely not a Derby

if it is then whenever two English sides play each other that would be a Derby too by that logic

you wouldn't call Southampton vs Newcastle "the English derby"

No, in a proper derby both teams come from the same town or city.

Not a derby for me. A derby is playing your local rivals not a team that's 3 to 4 hours away.

No, given the distance it is not a derby but it is a huge rivalry that has gone dormant. There are many more but Leeds v Cardiff is also a rivalry.

North wales v south Wales maybe.

Welsh Derby yes ....... but its simply a terminology for the news to report ..

Agree Welsh Derby .