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SWANSEA: From -191 goal difference to promoted — Cwm Albion complete the most remarkable turnaround in Welsh football

The 114-year-old Swansea club secured promotion to Division One of the Swansea Senior League on Saturday with a thumping 6-2 victory over African Community Centre — completing one of the most remarkable turnarounds in grassroots football anywhere in Wales.

The win sparked wild celebrations among players, staff and supporters who had endured some very dark days not so long ago.

In the 2022/23 season, Cwm Albion finished bottom of Division Four with a goal difference of -191.

They lost every single game.

It was as bad as it sounds — and it earned them a rather unwanted distinction.

Specsavers selected them as its “Best Worst Team” — an initiative designed to help the UK’s worst-performing grassroots club turn things around.

The support that followed included mentorship from footballing legend Harry Redknapp, who worked with the squad and helped attract new players to the club.

The transformation began almost immediately. Within a season, Cwm Albion went from a team conceding ten goals a game to one that couldn’t be beaten.

They then reached a cup final for the first time in 26 years — a moment that would have been unthinkable during those bleak days at the bottom of Division Four.

And now, promotion.

Manager Dan Gill said the achievement was hard to take in. “Three seasons ago we couldn’t buy a win, we were conceding games heavily every week,” he said. “To go from that to now being promoted in the Swansea Senior League is unbelievable. Looking back, it doesn’t even feel like the same club anymore.”

Gill said the Specsavers initiative had been the turning point. “We’ve got more players coming in, we’re winning more, scoring more and conceding less,” he said. “I’m so proud of everyone involved.”

He said other clubs had been asking how Cwm Albion kept going during the worst of it. “It just shows how far we’ve come,” he added.

Saturday’s 6-2 win takes them into Division One next season — and nobody who watched them three years ago would have believed it possible.

The Cwm Albion story

Harry Redknapp helps Swansea amateur side deemed UK’s worst performing football team
How the Specsavers Best Worst Team initiative brought Harry Redknapp to Cwm Albion.

Cwm Albion turn from Best Worst Team to unbeaten heroes
The remarkable transformation that followed Specsavers’ involvement.

Former worst team in the UK reach cup final for first time in 26 years
The moment that showed how far Cwm Albion had come.