The history of football in Wales
Now under the leadership of Rob Page, the team have followed up this Euros success story with qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, beating Ukraine to seal their spot in the tournament, for only the second time in history, at a euphoric Cardiff City Stadium.
Following the lifting of the playing ban in 1970, the international women’s team has also enjoyed a period of recent success, narrowly missing out on qualifying for both the 2019 and 2023 World Cups (the latter due to a heart-breaking defeat to Switzerland in the final minute of extra time), but still climbing to their highest ever FIFA ranking (29th in the world). This increasing success on the pitch has undoubtedly contributed to the growth of the game at grassroots level, with Wales witnessing a 50% rise in the number of girls and women playing football in the country from 2017-2020.
The club game in Wales is in a buoyant position too, with Cardiff City and Swansea City both enjoying recent campaigns in the top flight of the English league system, while eight women’s teams compete each season in the domestic Adran Premier League.
But, having started in the city of Wrexham, it feels only right to end there too.
In what has to be one of the most surreal episodes in Welsh football history, the city’s football club, Wrexham AFC, made headlines in 2020 following a successful takeover bid by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Despite many initially dismissing the idea of two actors wanting to run a Welsh football team (currently playing in the less-than-glamorous fifth-tier of the English football league) as something of a joke, the new owners were deadly serious about their ambitions to help the club recapture former glories. Consequently, Wrexham’s historic team has been thrust into the global spotlight, enjoying big-name sponsorships, record ticket sales and a considerable amount of promotion on their new owners’ popular social media channels ever since.
The development adds yet another chapter to the city’s storied footballing heritage, and the latest (rather surprising) twist in Wales’ long relationship with the round ball – with plenty more history still to be made.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3Lnqpnm5%2BifLe10qKraKugpL%2B1e8eiqq2noq56uLHLrJ9mnp%2BkwaOty6U%3D