'decades Behind' Wales To Invest In Post-euro 2025 Pathway

Wales' Euro 2025 run has been and gone.

Rhian Wilkinson's broadside suffered defeats successful each of their Group D matches against nan Netherlands, France and England.

However, qualification unsocial for nan summertime showpiece successful Switzerland represented immense advancement for nan Welsh women.

But what astir nan adjacent step?

Following nan conclusion of Wales' debut awesome tourney campaign, BBC Sport Wales looks astatine nan cardinal aspects of nan crippled that will beryllium addressed successful nan adjacent early to guarantee nan summertime of 2025 was not a one-off.

Reflecting connected nan past, erstwhile Wales skipper Laura McAllister said nan Football Association of Wales (FAW) "has embraced nan crippled pinch awesome power and enthusiasm successful caller times".

But nan Uefa vice-president admitted Wales were still "playing catch-up" to nan world's starring shot nations fixed that they were not officially established until 1993 - pinch their withdrawal from nan Euro 2005 qualifiers besides being different awesome setback.

Following Wales' 6-1 nonaccomplishment to nan Lionesses successful their last Euro 2025 game, different ex-Wales skipper, Kath Morgan, said Wilkinson's broadside had been below-par successful Switzerland.

"I'm disappointed for nan girls, this is not nan book we had written individually and collectively," she told BBC Radio Wales.

"I deliberation we've underperformed massively, we didn't want to play for illustration that connected nan European shape and it's disappointing."

FAW main executive Noel Mooney admits Wales person a agelong measurement to spell to span nan spread to nan top-tier nations.

"As an association, we've sewage a strategy here, Ein Cymru (Our Wales)," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"The number 1 nonsubjective we had complete this play up to 2026 was to get to a awesome women's world finals, which we achieved.

"If you're going to go, you mightiness arsenic good play against nan champion successful nan world, and my God we did that."

He added: "We're decades down successful position of investment. That's what we're doing present astatine nan FAW, is to drawback up pinch countries who person put successful tens and hundreds of millions of pounds into their crippled complete a number of years."

Former Wales subordinate and head Jayne Ludlow gave a blunt appraisal while moving arsenic a pundit connected ITV's sum of Sunday's 6-1 thrashing by England.

"Listening to Rhian, galore group whitethorn deliberation it's refreshing to admit mistakes were made, but I deliberation she's a caput coach that's crying retired for support, not needfully from nan group astir her but nan wider shot situation successful Wales," said Ludlow.

"They can't compete astatine this level correct now. There's nary messing astir pinch that. We've mislaid 3 games and we've mislaid them heavily. That doesn't mean we can't compete successful nan future."

It is simply a matter nan FAW continues to reside arsenic it seeks to adjacent nan spread to those supra Wales successful Fifa's world rankings.

Prior to nan Euros, nan governing assemblage issued a £1m money towards improving Welsh accommodation owed to an "explosion" of girls wanting to play football, according to Mooney.

He besides says much than £20m has been invested done nan Cymru Football Foundation complete caller years - adding that nan FAW has "revolutionised" really it invests successful nan men's and women's crippled successful Wales.

And fixed their Euro qualification, 2025 will spot nan women's broadside person much finance than Craig Bellamy's men's side.

"Over nan past fewer years we've multiplied our finance into nan women's game," Mooney explained.

"So successful this year, we'll put much successful nan women's nationalist squad than nan men's nationalist team. We'll person sewage €1.8m (£1.5m) for participating successful nan Euros."

Looking ahead, nan FAW expects to denote a caller strategy for nan Adran Leagues - pinch Mooney stating location will beryllium a "multi-million lb investment" down nan changes.

The FAW is besides expected to denote a "long-term high-performance plan" adjacent year, successful statement pinch nan FAW's 150th anniversary.

At present, location is nary women's nationalist broadside betwixt under-19 and first-team level.

And aft Wales' tourney exit was confirmed, concerns were raised astir nan pathway to nan elder women's team.

Ludlow, who won 61 caps for her country, said: "There's a batch to do. Great that we've sewage to this shape but, developmentally, our pathways for our young players to get to nan apical level… there's truthful overmuch to do."

Morgan and ex-Wales striker Helen Ward some noted concerns astir nan costs progressive of introducing an under-21 aliases under-23 side, though Ward admitted location is simply a "jump" from younker shot to nan elder team.

Mooney says nan pathway is among nan topics nan FAW will talk successful its post-tournament reappraisal later this year.

"With nan Under-19s, we don't person nan hugest playing excavation successful nan world. That's a chat we'll surely person post-Euros," he said.

"A batch of different countries don't person it. A batch of nan champion players erstwhile they're 17, 18 aliases 19 spell consecutive into nan elder squad truthful they would bypass nan 21s anyway, it's still a spot different to nan men's game.

"That's a statement we'll person pinch our stakeholders and nan guidance team, past we'll make a determination connected what's nan correct point for america to do to springiness america nan champion chance of competing toe-to-toe pinch these apical world nations."

The FAW has enjoyed awesome occurrence successful identifying and attracting Welsh-qualified players to perpetrate to playing for nan men's broadside complete caller years - pinch existent internationals Ethan Ampadu, David Brooks and Kieffer Moore among nan England-born contingent opting to deterioration nan reddish of Wales.

Mooney feels it is an facet that tin beryllium improved wrong nan women's set-up, pinch players based successful nations including nan United States being explored.

"We've already revolutionised our full younker pathway for women coming through," he said.

"So we already person a high-performance scheme that's only a mates of years old.

"We besides request to look astatine nan talent ID system. We've sewage players who we person identified extracurricular of Cymru who tin travel into that squad and adhd a batch of quality."

Mooney has already stated nan FAW will behaviour a reappraisal into a wide scope of issues surrounding nan women's crippled successful Wales, arsenic it bids to build connected nan important strides made complete caller years.

And Ludlow feels nan upcoming months will beryllium pivotal successful determining whether aliases not Wales proceed to amended arsenic a women's footballing nation.

"The decisions nan FAW make going forwards are going to beryllium immense to whether we get to this shape again, and whether we tin progress," she said.