In recent seasons some clubs, particularly the big three of Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham have fielded under-strength sides and the result has not been attractive to the viewing public, says BBC Wales.

The withdrawal of the annual prize fund of £360,000 will come as a serious blow to some cash-strapped Welsh clubs.

A BBC spokesman explained: "The tournament was established to bring together all Welsh football clubs, irrespective of which league they played their football in, from week to week.

Hopes

"However, in recent seasons in particular, the priority afforded the tournament by some participants has diluted the quality of the competition. As a result BBC Wales has decided to discontinue coverage of the tournament after the current season."

With a new sponsor unlikely, the FA of Wales is now pinning its hopes on high level talks with Uefa next month aimed at allowing Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham to rejoin the Welsh Cup with European qualification as the carrot.

FAW secretary general David Collins said that as well as the big three, he wished to see English-based clubs represent Wales in Europe should they win the Welsh Cup.

However, current Uefa regulations say that only clubs playing within the boundaries of their national associations can be nominated for competitions like the Uefa Cup.

With the move to Park Hall, those playing outside Wales now include The New Saints who will be watching negotiations with interest, however no-one from the club was available for comment.

The Saints lost in the quarter finals of the FAW Cup in January at Carmarthen.