The season is split into two phases, and concludes with an end of season Playoff to determine Wales' fourth European side for the following year.
Phase 1
Phase 1 runs from MD1 in August through to MD22 in mid-January. Each team plays the other sides in the league twice, once at home and once away, making a total of twenty-two games.
After the conclusion of Phase 1, the league splits in two, with the top six teams forming the Championship Conference, and the bottom six teams forming the Playoff Conference. All points accumulated by teams in Phase 1 are brought forward into Phase 2
Phase 2
Phase 2 then runs from MD23 at the start of February through to MD32 at the end of April. Each side plays the other five in their conference twice more, home and away, to bring up a total of thirty-two games played.
The side finishing top of the Championship Conference after thirty-two games is the League Champion, and will qualify for the UEFA Champions League. To date six teams have won the title in twenty-six seasons.
The Runners-Up in the Championship Conference qualify automatically for the UEFA Europa League, whilst the remaining teams qualify for the end of season European Playoffs.
The bottom two sides in the Playoff Conference are relegated. Meanwhile the side finishing top of the Playoff Conference (seventh place in the league table) advances to the European Playoffs.
Note that sides in the Playoff Conference can finish no higher in the table than seventh.
European Playoffs
The five teams finishing in 3rd-7th contest the end of season European Playoffs. 6th host 7th in a Quarter-Final, with the winner travelling to the 3rd placed side for the first Semi-Final, whilst 4th host 5th in the other.
The winners then meet at the ground of the highest ranked side in the Final, with the winner qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.
In the event that one of the five teams has already qualified for Europe by winning the JD Welsh Cup, then the remaining four sides will contest the Playoffs directly from the Semi-Final stage.
In the event that one of the top two sides wins the JD Welsh Cup, then the third placed side will automatically take up a UEFA Europa League spot. The remaining four sides will then contest the Playoffs directly from the Semi-Final stage.