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Caerphilly Athletic will play in the Ardal South East for the first time next season after finishing runners-up in the South Wales Alliance Premier League.

Ian Butterworth’s side celebrated their promotion at Aber Park following a 2-2 draw against local rivals Aber Valley on Wednesday night.

Caerphilly finish runners-up to Cardiff Airport, but will still join them in the Ardal South East next season.

They will also play alongside fellow borough side Risca United in the third tier, and hopefully Abercarn United if they avoid the drop.

Speaking to Caerphilly Observer after their promotion, Butterworth said: “It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet.

“It was a tough match against Aber who wanted to make it hard for us, but we were the better side on the day and controlled the game.

“Obviously there’s been a lot of back and forth between the two clubs over the years so it was a great feeling to get promotion at their place.”

Caerphilly have been threatening to clinch promotion for the past few games, but recent losses to Pencoed Athletic and Cardiff Airport meant they had to wait until the penultimate game of the season.

“We were dominating possession in those but the Aber game was the first where we created real chances and I knew at half-time we’d get it done.”

Caerphilly have come a long way under Butterworth, who took over as manager after the club was relegated during the Covid season.

He said: “I was a player at the time for the club and would have been happy just to get us back to where we were.

“For us to be – I believe – the first ever club from Caerphilly town to join the Welsh leagues is an amazing achievement.”

Although the club eventually came into the season with the goal of gaining promotion, Butterworth admitted he wasn’t sure if he’d be part of the journey.

“I’d been at the club for a few seasons and thought maybe it was time for a fresh set of eyes. I was also helping out over at Cascade Ladies.

“I sent a text to the lads before the season though and had a really positive response. We’d lost a lot of boys last season and it was really tough, but some key players committed so we gave it a real go.”

Caerphilly still have one game left this season, at home to Port Talbot Town, where they plan to invite past players to join in on the celebrations.

It marks a double success for Caerphilly town, with Caerphilly Rugby Club also securing promotion this season.