'Decades behind' Wales to invest in post-Euro 2025 pathway

Wales' Euro 2025 campaign has been and gone.

Rhian Wilkinson's side suffered defeats in each of their Group D matches against the Netherlands, France and England.

However, qualification alone for the summer showpiece in Switzerland represented huge progress for the Welsh women.

But what about the next step?

Following the conclusion of Wales' debut major tournament campaign, BBC Sport Wales looks at the key aspects of the game that will be addressed in the near future to ensure the summer of 2025 was not a one-off.

Reflecting on the past, former Wales captain Laura McAllister said the Football Association of Wales (FAW) "has embraced the game with great energy and enthusiasm in recent times".

But the Uefa vice-president admitted Wales were still "playing catch-up" to the world's leading football nations given that they were not officially established until 1993 - with their withdrawal from the Euro 2005 qualifiers also being another major setback.

Following Wales' 6-1 loss to the Lionesses in their final Euro 2025 game, another ex-Wales skipper, Kath Morgan, said Wilkinson's side had been below-par in Switzerland.

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

"I think we've underperformed massively, we didn't want to play like that on the European stage and it's disappointing."

FAW chief executive Noel Mooney admits Wales have a long way to go to bridge the gap to the top-tier nations.

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

"The number one objective we had over this period up to 2026 was to get to a major women's international finals, which we achieved.

"If you're going to go, you might as well play against the best in the world, and my God we did that."

He added: "We're decades behind in terms of investment. That's what we're doing here at the FAW, is to catch up with countries who have put in tens and hundreds of millions of pounds into their game over a number of years."

Former Wales player and manager Jayne Ludlow gave a blunt assessment while working as a pundit on ITV's coverage of Sunday's 6-1 thrashing by England.

"Listening to Rhian, many people may think it's refreshing to acknowledge mistakes were made, but I think she's a head coach that's crying out for support, not necessarily from the people around her but the wider football environment in Wales," said Ludlow.

"They can't compete at this level right now. There's no messing about with that. We've lost three games and we've lost them heavily. That doesn't mean we can't compete in the future."

It is a matter the FAW continues to address as it seeks to close the gap to those above Wales in Fifa's world rankings.

Prior to the Euros, the governing body issued a £1m fund towards improving Welsh facilities due to an "explosion" of girls wanting to play football, according to Mooney.

He also says more than £20m has been invested through the Cymru Football Foundation over recent years - adding that the FAW has "revolutionised" how it invests in the men's and women's game in Wales.

And given their Euro qualification, 2025 will see the women's side receive more investment than Craig Bellamy's men's side.

"Over the last few years we've multiplied our investment into the women's game," Mooney explained.

"So in this year, we'll invest more in the women's national team than the men's national team. We'll have got €1.8m (£1.5m) for participating in the Euros."

Looking ahead, the FAW expects to announce a new strategy for the Adran Leagues - with Mooney stating there will be a "multi-million pound investment" behind the changes.

The FAW is also expected to announce a "long-term high-performance plan" next year, in line with the FAW's 150th anniversary.

At present, there is no women's national side between under-19 and first-team level.

And after Wales' tournament exit was confirmed, concerns were raised about the pathway to the senior women's team.

Ludlow, who won 61 caps for her country, said: "There's a lot to do. Great that we've got to this stage but, developmentally, our pathways for our young players to get to the top level… there's so much to do."

Morgan and ex-Wales striker Helen Ward both noted concerns about the costs involved of introducing an under-21 or under-23 side, although Ward admitted there is a "jump" from youth football to the senior team.

Mooney says the pathway is among the topics the FAW will discuss in its post-tournament review later this year.

"With the Under-19s, we don't have the hugest playing pool in the world. That's a discussion we'll certainly have post-Euros," he said.

"A lot of other countries don't have it. A lot of the best players when they're 17, 18 or 19 go straight into the senior squad so they would bypass the 21s anyway, it's still a bit different to the men's game.

"That's a debate we'll have with our stakeholders and the management team, then we'll make a decision on what's the right thing for us to do to give us the best chance of competing toe-to-toe with these top world nations."

The FAW has enjoyed great success in identifying and attracting Welsh-qualified players to commit to playing for the men's side over recent years - with current internationals Ethan Ampadu, David Brooks and Kieffer Moore among the England-born contingent opting to wear the red of Wales.

Mooney feels it is an aspect that can be improved within the women's set-up, with players based in nations including the United States being explored.

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

"So we already have a high-performance plan that's only a couple of years old.

"We also need to look at the talent ID system. We've got players who we have identified outside of Cymru who can come into that squad and add a lot of quality."

Mooney has already stated the FAW will conduct a review into a wide range of issues surrounding the women's game in Wales, as it bids to build on the significant strides made over recent years.

And Ludlow feels the upcoming months will be pivotal in determining whether or not Wales continue to improve as a women's footballing nation.

"The decisions the FAW make going forwards are going to be huge to whether we get to this stage again, and whether we can progress," she said.