Cardiff City and Wrexham outline ambitious plans for Women’s football

Cardiff City have announced today that their entire senior squad will be turning semi-professional ahead of the new season, following in the footsteps of Wrexham.

The reigning Adran Premier and FAW Cup champions become the first team in Wales to offer their full squad semi-pro contracts.

The news comes on the eve of the Champions League draw, where the Bluebirds will discover their opponents in this year’s first qualifying round.

Speaking on the historic news, City manager Iain Darbyshire couldn’t wait to start a brand-new era with the club.

“We are delighted to be able to offer semi-professional contracts to our full senior squad. This is a huge moment for the Women’s game in Wales, and something that we can be massively proud of as a football club.

“We believe that our players deserve to be recognised and rewarded for their hard work and commitment over previous seasons, and this announcement is the first step in doing so.

“We are now training three times a week, regularly playing in front of large crowds, and seeing significant increases in commercial revenue and it’s only right the commitment from our players to perform at the top level is rewarded and recognised.”

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On Monday, Wrexham announced that ten of their players had signed semi-pro contracts with the club.

Amongst them are goalkeeper Del Morgan, top scorer Rosie Hughes, and Rebecca Pritchard, who scored the all-important goal that sealed promotion to the Adran Premier.

Speaking on the contracts, Wrexham’s Head of Women’s Operations, Gemma Owen, was delighted to mark an historic moment for her club.

“We are proud to be able to announce the first ten players to have signed semi-professional contracts with the Football Club.

“This is an historic moment, not just for the Football Club but for women’s football in North Wales and shows just what young girls in our region can aspire to.

“All ten players signed up so far have proved themselves on and off the pitch, not just as fine footballers but as great role models too and are fitting pioneers.”

With now two of the eight teams in the Adran Premier having semi-pro individuals in their ranks, it’s difficult to see how other teams will not jump on board with the Bluebirds and the Red Dragons.

Head of Women’s Football at the FAW, Lowri Roberts, has praised the move both teams have made, and hopes it can be a catalyst for others across Wales.

“It shows that there’s a real commitment and a desire from the professional clubs in Wales to back women’s football.

“They are realising the potential, they are also appreciating and respecting the value that those women bring to their clubs, and to Wales as a whole.

“To see that Cardiff’s full senior squad are going to be offered semi pro contracts is game changing. It’s fantastic to see those players getting the reward and recognition that they deserve.

“What we’re seeing in women’s football is that we stand on each other’s shoulders. Once one club has done that, we believe that what will happen is other clubs will want to keep up so that they can compete.

“We hope to see more investment from those professional clubs being made into their women’s team.”

Featured Image: Perry Dobbins