Wales: Girls’ Football Performance Centres – Next Steps to Welsh Success

A development news sidebar on the Welsh Football Trust’s investment in girls’ football performance centres, the next rung on the ladder into Wales’s elite structures. Until now the first step for girls has been one of two Regional Development Squads, north and south, which meet for training and fixtures only five times a year. The Trust is now funding a performance centre within each Area Association over two years to bridge the gap from club football to those squads, each catering for Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 groups with a weekly training programme that includes goalkeeper coaching. The first centre has opened in West Wales in partnership with Swansea City Football in the Community, two local girls’ leagues, the West Wales FA and Trust officers, attracting the best players from as far apart as Haverfordwest and Port Talbot. South Wales FA is already in talks with Cardiff City FITC over the next one.