How Wales will transform after Euro 2025

To talk about what happens after a tournament before a ball has even been kicked does seem ridiculous, but the knock-on effect of what Wales are about to do will be enormous.

It’s not just a feeling or a hope. You can see that the legacy that this team is going to leave will have a huge impact on the next generation coming through.

Nowhere was that more visible than in Pontypridd at the FAW’s Ein Dathliad: For Her festival. At the player-led event girls of all ages, no matter their playing experience, were invited to come together and enjoy the beautiful game while also offering a chance to meet the national team.

The festival took place in the middle of the last international break, but every single player came down to attend. What was instantly obvious was the delight on the faces of not only the young people, but the players too.

Every single one of Wales’ Euro 2025 squad has gone on a journey to get to where they are, and the festival was a time to reflect on how far the game has come.

For Kayleigh Barton, Euro 2025 will be her first, but could also be her last tournament for her country. As she looked out on the hundreds of children playing the game she loves, the forward reflected on the fact that she could have only dreamt of festivals like that when she was growing up.

“I started in a boys’ team before joining Cardiff City Ladies at about nine-years-old, and that’s when I started my journey in women’s football. For kids today to be able to have so many opportunities to join girls football teams is amazing. That’s what we want.

“We want to push participation on girls’ teams. I wish I had festivals like the one we put on when I was growing up. When I was younger it was all about boys and boys’ tournaments, and you had to be a girl and fit into all that.

“It’s not just about getting young girls to enjoy football. It’s also about building confidence, meeting other young people and so on.”

Even on the younger end of the scale, these players have had a real journey to the senior team.

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Lily Woodham said often she would be the only girl at football tournaments when she was younger, but that festivals like Ein Dathliad: For Her shows how rapidly the game is growing in Wales.

“For us in this national team, we’ve all had different paths to where we are now, and we all know how difficult those paths were.

“So, to be able to try and make those steps a little bit easier for those young girls coming up now, and to show all of their hard work they do in training, in school, in tournaments, does pay off in the end.”

And every player knows the part they will play in shaping the future of Welsh football.

While this event took place in the Valleys, vice-captain Ceri Holland said this legacy was something for the whole of Wales, something everyone can be a part of.

“We want to inspire the next generation. We felt as players like we wanted to do something for the Euros this summer, and if we could get as many girls engaged with football as we can then that’s great.

“We had girls turn up who probably have never played football before, and we wanted that to be a big part of the messaging for this festival. We wanted everyone to be able to get involved across the whole of Wales. This isn’t just a South Wales thing, this is for all of Wales.”

So how can Wales harness this momentum and use it to take women’s football to a level never seen before?

Home nations like Scotland and Northern Ireland, and even to a certain extent the Republic of Ireland, after qualifying for a major tournament have taken a real step back from the spotlight and haven’t pushed on since then.

Bethan Woolley, the Strategic Lead of Women and Girls Football at the FAW, says the association has plans in place, and stressed the need to take advantage of the chance they’ve been given.

“What we don’t want to do as a country and as an association is miss this fantastic opportunity that’s been given to us. We’ve got three core pillars in our strategy.

“One is inspiration and how we can inspire young girls to play, but also how we can inspire more women to become coaches and referees.

“The second is about community and how we can create communities around the women’s national team and how we can bring our players into those communities across Wales.

“The third is about culture and how we can put our own cultural Welsh stamp on the world.

“We need to ensure that we keep the momentum going after the Euros. We’ve got the women’s and girls’ strategy in place; we’ve got different programmes in place to ensure there are different activities taking place.

“The Cymru Football Foundation have also put a fund out for off the pitch infrastructures to ensure facilities are accessible and adequate for young girls.

“There’s a wider piece that we are doing to ensure all the different pieces of the jigsaw are in place and ready to make sure that, after the Euros, we can continue on this trajectory.”

Ein Dathliad: For Her was an undeniable success. Over 300 young girls attended and met their heroines.

That was one thing, but fast forward to the Wales team leaving Cardiff Airport for their pre-tournament camp in Portugal, and things went up another level.

Clubs from across South Wales came to wave the team off, and again, it’s something we haven’t seen in this country before.

Speaking to Angharad James, you could see how much this all meant. There is a shift in mentality across Wales towards women’s football, and the captain can’t wait to see how everything will change when the squad return from Switzerland.

“It’s something that we have focused on [things never being the same again]. We’ve always appreciated those who have come before us, and we’ve always wanted to be able to leave our mark and our legacy.

“Hopefully by qualifying for the Euros and having a good tournament that, when we come back, everything will change for women’s football in this country. We’ve got the backing, and we’ve got so many young girls involved in the sport.

“It’s an exciting time to be a part of Welsh football.”

For the last 50 years people have battled for Welsh football to be where it is now, and reaching a major tournament is an end to all the hurt and pain that’s come before.

The next 50 years has the potential to be extraordinary. Already for the Euros, pubs are staying open late, clubs across the country are opening up for fans to watch, and people who have perhaps never talked about women’s football are eager to see what Wales can do.

After their Alpine adventure, things in Cymru will never be the same again, and I can’t wait.

(Featured Image: Ashley Crowden/FAW)