The South Wales derby () is a local derby between Welsh association football clubs Cardiff City and Swansea City. The fixture has been described by The Independent as one of the fiercest rivalries in British football. Although based in Wales, both clubs play in the English football league system and have won English honours: Cardiff the FA Cup in 1927 and Swansea the Football League Cup in 2013.
The first meeting between the two sides took place in 1912, in Swansea's first competitive fixture, and ended in a draw. In the pre-war era, the derby was played infrequently, particularly in the league with only eight meetings between the sides from 1912 to 1945 as the clubs were rarely in the same division. After the Second World War, football attendances rose significantly and the first derby attracted a record crowd of more than 57,000 in 1949. These high attendances continued through the 1950s, including the first derby played in a Welsh Cup final in 1956 which set a record attendance for a match in the competition. Attendances began to fall at the start of the 1960s following a downturn in the fortunes of both teams.
The 1970s saw only five derby matches, all in the Welsh Cup, before Swansea enjoyed a resurgence under the management of John Toshack in the early 1980s. However, by the end of the decade and the early 1990s, the derby became blighted by hooliganism which led to the fixture becoming the first in Britain to ban away fans from attending. The derby experienced a resurgence at the start of the 21st century, with both teams reaching the Championship before eventually meeting in the top tier of English football in the Premier League for the first time in 2013 which Cardiff went on to win.
The clubs have played each other more than 110 times in all competitions. Having begun as a friendly rivalry, the relationship between the two sides deteriorated after the 1960s which led to several high profile, violent clashes between supporters that gained the fixture a reputation as one of Britain's fiercest rivalries. Goalkeeper Roger Freestone has appeared in more derbies between the two sides than any other player, making 19 appearances for Swansea in the fixture during his career. Brayley Reynolds scored eight times for Swansea in derby matches, more than any other player. The most recent South Wales derby took place on 18 January 2025 in the EFL Championship, ending in a 3–0 win for Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium.
History Southern Football League
Cardiff City was formed in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C. by members of a local cricket club. The team competed in the amateur leagues before gaining entry into the Southern Football League and turning professional in 1910. With growing interest in association football in the traditionally rugby union stronghold of Swansea, the decision was taken to form a club. Swansea Town was founded in 1912 and gained admission into the Second Division of the Southern Football League alongside Cardiff. The two clubs faced each other for the first time on 7 September 1912, in Swansea's first competitive fixture, with the match ending in a 1–1 draw; Billy Ball gave the Swans the lead before Cardiff captain John Burton equalised. Swansea went on to claim the first victory between the two sides five months later when they defeated Cardiff 4–2 in the semi-final of the Welsh Cup despite trailing 2–0 at half time. Cardiff lost two players to injury in the second half in a time when substitutes were not permitted, ending the match with nine players. Such was the friendliness between the two sides in the early meetings that when Burton scored a bicycle kick in the match, several of his opponents stopped to shake hands with him in appreciation of the goal.
Cardiff were promoted to the First Division of the Southern Football League at the end of the 1912–13 season. Although the clubs met in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup the following season, it would be the last competitive fixture between the two sides for six years as the Southern Football League was suspended during the First World War. Two friendlies were played in April 1919 as the clubs began to prepare for a return of competitive football at the end of hostilities with both sides winning a match each. The popularity of the derby quickly became obvious as the first post First World War league fixture attracted a season high crowd of 15,500 for Swansea, who claimed a 2–1 victory, while Cardiff recorded its first victory in the return fixture on 7 February 1920, defeating the Swans 1–0 at Ninian Park following George Beare's goal. The second fixture was attended by 24,317 spectators, the largest crowd ever recorded in the Southern League at the time. A friendly was also held in October 1919 as a benefit match for Cardiff's trainer George Latham who captained his side for the fixture in a 1–1 draw.
Pre-war and wartime
In 1920, in order to expand, the Football League absorbed the teams from the First Division of the Southern League. Swansea were placed into the newly created Football League Third Division but Cardiff were granted a place in the Football League Second Division after winning an election vote. The split resulted in the two sides facing each other only three times between 1920 and 1929, all of which came in the Welsh Cup. Cardiff enjoyed one of the most successful periods in the club's history during the 1920s, winning the 1927 FA Cup Final and finishing as runners-up in both the 1925 final and the First Division in 1923–24. In the 1920s the rivalry was more friendly; there are accounts of Swansea fans travelling to the 1927 FA Cup final in support of their neighbouring rivals. A goodwill message was also forwarded to the Cardiff team from Swansea ahead of the match. Cardiff were relegated to the Second Division in 1929. This resulted in the first league meetings between the two sides for 11 years, a goalless draw in October of that year. A benefit match for several Swansea players was held in April 1930 at Vetch Field and resulted in a 6–2 victory for the home side as Ronnie Williams scored five of his side's goals.
Cardiff were relegated again in 1932, dropping into the Football League Third Division South. As a result, the derby was only played a further four times before the outbreak of the Second World War; the clubs were drawn against each other twice in the Welsh Cup, with both ties requiring a replay to decide a winner. In the pre-war era, the Welsh Cup provided more meetings between the two sides than league competition with 10 derbies being played in the Welsh Cup between 1912 and 1939, two more meetings than in league fixtures. The last competitive pre-war derby took place on 23 February 1939 as Cardiff defeated Swansea 4–1 in the fifth round of the Welsh Cup following braces from Harry Egan and Tex Rickards.
With football restricted during wartime, the close proximity of the two sides led to them being grouped together in regional wartime leagues. The first wartime fixture was played in August 1939 under the guise of a charity match for the Jubilee Benevolent Fund. For the 1939–40 season Cardiff and Swansea were placed in the South-West Region and played out a 2–2 draw in their first meeting. In total, the teams met 42 times during wartime. Cardiff dominated competition during this period, winning 30 of the 42 meetings. This included an 8–0 victory for Cardiff in a match that was dubbed the "Bluebirds Blitzkrieg" following hat tricks from Beriah Moore and Billy James.
Post-war When the Football League resumed in the 1946–47 season, Cardiff won promotion from the Third Division South at the expense of Swansea who were relegated to the same division. Despite this, Cardiff manager Billy McCandless chose to leave the club to join Swansea after receiving a lucrative offer from the rival side. McCandless led Swansea back to the Second Division in 1949, resulting in the first post-war meeting of the sides on 27 August. The match was also the first league meeting between the two sides for 19 years, the longest gap between league matches in the derby's history. With football enjoying a post-war attendance boom, more than 60,000 tickets were sold although only 57,510 spectators were recorded through the turnstiles at the match. The figure is the biggest crowd ever recorded for a South Wales derby in which Cardiff claimed a 1–0 victory through a goal by Tommy Best. The original ticket sales of 60,855 would have also been a club record for both sides; Cardiff's record home attendance is instead 57,893 against Arsenal four years later. The return fixture, in December of the same year, also saw Swansea record its highest ever derby attendance with 27,264 spectators witnessing Swansea win 5–1.
In 1955, Cardiff was named as the capital city of Wales. The decision, along with the perceived favouritism from UK governments believed to have been shown to the city since has been credited as the starting point of the deterioration of relations between the two sides. In 1956, the South Wales derby was played in the final of the Welsh Cup in front of a crowd of 37,500 at Ninian Park. The attendance remains the highest ever recorded in the Welsh Cup. Cardiff went on to win the match 3–2 despite being reduced to ten men within the opening 30 minutes when forward Gerry Hitchens suffered a broken leg. The following year, Cardiff recorded its first victory over Swansea at Vetch Field, winning 1–0 following a goal from Colin Hudson. The next meeting between the sides, in March 1959, resulted in Swansea achieving the same feat by winning at their rivals home ground for the first time in league competition. Mel Nurse scored the only goal of the game from a penalty, the first league goal Swansea had scored at Ninian Park.
Before the 1960s the rivalry was a typically a friendly one and many fans held no animosity towards their Welsh rivals. In the area between the two cities, some fans supported both teams and matches between the sides in the post-war decade often saw opposing fans standing alongside each other on the terraces. The 1960s saw that change as football culture became more aggressive and local rivalries became more important than shared regional identities. The earliest trouble of note between the two teams occurred in February 1960 during a Welsh Cup sixth round tie. Cardiff were due to play a league match two days later and approached the Football Association of Wales (FAW) to postpone the match. The request was denied and in response, Cardiff manager Bill Jones named a reserve side for the fixture. Despite fielding a weakened team, Cardiff went on to win the tie 2–1 in a match that saw several confrontations. Cardiff's Colin Hudson was sent off for a foul with ten minutes remaining before his teammate Steve Mokone and Swansea's Harry Griffiths were also dismissed after wrestling each other to the ground and throwing mud in retaliation. The FAW subsequently fined Cardiff £350 for fielding a weakened side in the competition and warned the club against doing so again in future. Swansea historian Gwyn Rees has stated that fans' animosity began to increase in the late 1960s, citing the 1969 Welsh Cup final as a turning point. The match was the first derby that saw notable issues of violence between the two sets of supporters. At the end of the 1969–70 season, Swansea Town changed its name to Swansea City after the area was granted city status.
Lower divisions and hooliganism