Euro 2025: Wales preparing for history in Switzerland
Welsh football officials predict qualifying will significantly increase the number of girls playing football in the country.
Research shows that in England, the number of girls playing football increased by 140% this season after winning Euro 2022.
Wales has been growing for some time now, with the number of girls signing up to the club increasing rapidly since the boys’ team reached the semi-finals of the European Championships in 2016.
In 2016, the number of players was approximately 6,000. The Football Association of Wales (FAW) has set a target of 20,000 players by 2026, which currently stands at around 18,000.
In reality, the push may be even greater because these numbers don’t include football games played in schools.
“I think we’ll be able to do that now as the team advances,” FAW chief football officer Dave Adams said.
Fishlock believes playing in an important final can make a big difference.
“The whole point of this is, originally (was) I wanted to grow this game for the future and make it better than it was before, so I think I can sit here and say we’re doing a really good job at that,” she explain.
“Not only can you want to be a footballer and play for the women’s national team, but if you want to do that, it would be a very rewarding and effective career path. For girls who want to move on, it would be Huge.”
However, Wilkinson warned that Wales was “culturally behind” in supporting the women’s game.
“I don’t want to shy away from mentioning things that need to be mentioned and we haven’t done that in Wales,” she told BBC Sport Wales.
“It really bothers me every time I feel like we’re showing young people, boys and girls, that there are more and less, and that there are gender differences.
“Because I can see the next generation, don’t think they don’t notice that their parents only take them to the men’s game because it’s more valuable.”
