The team, who lost all their games and racked up a staggering -191 goal difference in the Swansea Senior League Division 4 just two seasons ago, haven’t been anywhere near a final since 1999, so it’s a remarkable turnaround for the 100-year old club.
Speaking about the historic win Dan Gill, Manager of Cwm Albion FC said: “It’s a fantastic result, I can’t quite believe it! To think where we were a couple of seasons ago – winning zero games, getting battered every week, finishing bottom of the table by a country mile – to now being in the top half of the table and winning the cup… we’re just unrecognisable,” the manager adds.
At the start of its 2023/24 campaign, Cwm Albion were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by Specsavers to turn their fortunes around, following a nationwide search to find a club in desperate need of help.
Dan added “I’m so proud of the team and the club, at the very start of our last season we were at our lowest point that I can remember. Then the Specsavers Best Worst Team campaign gave us that push that we needed, helped us get more players wanting to join, and we’re winning more, scoring more and conceding less.”
Just last week, the Reserve team also made it through to the final of the Swansea Reserve Cup. Among the starting lineup for that game was long-serving player, Colin Gill – Dan’s father.
Speaking about the full-circle moment that spans nearly three decades, Colin said: “It’s a huge achievement and the turnaround has been massive. We couldn’t get a full team on the pitch two seasons ago, and now we’re reaching finals and winning trophies.”
Colin sums up the club’s achievement: “We’ve certainly been enjoying the celebrations. It’s great to see so much hard work pay off. We have other clubs coming over to us after games asking how we managed to keep the club going when we were conceding ten goals a game – it’s such a huge moment to get to this point.”
Speaking on the achievement, Lisa Hale, head of broadcast and consumer PR & social said: “Following Cwm Albion’s journey since they were crowned Specsavers’ Best Worst Team has been a rollercoaster. This result is and this is a dream come true and we’re so happy for the club.
“It’s a true grassroots underdog story and shows the benefits and legacy of Specsavers Best Worst Team – Cwm Albion are thriving; they’ve won game after game and attracted new players which have given the whole club a boost.”
“To celebrate, we’ll be showing the action from the games in a special episode on the Best Worst Team YouTube channel.”
The Cwm Albion Final episode will be available to watch on Specsavers Best Worst Team YouTube Channel in July 2025
