The summer that changed Welsh football

"With much wealth coming successful from qualification for the European Championships, peculiarly Euro 2016, we ended up being much cash-rich," says Jonathan Ford, main enforcement of the Football Association of Wales (FAW) from 2009 to 2021.

"That enabled america to enactment much wealth crossed the board: women's football, grassroots football. We transformed the women's game."

Uefa vice-president Laura McAllister is simply a erstwhile skipper of Wales who played a starring relation successful getting the FAW to formally found a nationalist women's squad successful the 1990s.

"There was thing inevitable astir what happened post-2016 and that's wherefore I deliberation we should springiness recognition to the FAW, and Jonathan Ford particularly, for steering america retired of the tourney into that era," says McAllister.

"I was portion of the FAW Trust successful 2016. I tin retrieve times earlier that erstwhile Jonathan came into the committee and said things like, 'Until the men suffice for a large tournament, we can't put successful X, Y and Z'. And that included the women's nationalist team.

"While I bristled astatine that due to the fact that it felt unfair, the fiscal realities of the FAW meant until the men got to a presumption wherever they generated income from participating and winning, it was going to beryllium intolerable for america to present the strategy we had for Welsh football."

McAllister travelled to France 10 years agone arsenic a fan, and Qatar successful 2022 to cheer connected Wales' men astatine a World Cup.

When the women played astatine Euro 2025 successful Switzerland, McAllister was determination again to spot the bequest not lone of her ain pioneering enactment successful establishing the squad but the far-reaching effects of 2016.

"Something happens erstwhile you qualify. It's flicking a power successful mentality - it becomes thing realistic and achievable," she adds.

"What matters acold much is what you bash with the breakthrough moment, not however you've performed."

Wales' women are present trying to instrumentality the adjacent measurement of qualifying for their archetypal World Cup, portion the men looked connected enviously arsenic their showpiece lawsuit happened without them successful the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.

Disappointing arsenic it was, that vexation itself represented a displacement successful mindset that came aft Euro 2016 – a crisp opposition to the passive acceptance that met Wales' erstwhile lack from large tournaments.

Since that aureate period successful France, Wales consciousness similar they beryllium astatine this level.

"The champion happening we could springiness the teams coming aft america was to accidental it's possible," says Coleman.

Subsequent qualifications person been the bequest of Euro 2016, portion aboriginal ambitions are impervious of a tendency to guarantee generations to travel proceed to physique connected the foundations laid by their predecessors.

There is plentifulness much Wales' men and women privation to execute but, immoderate happens, determination volition ne'er beryllium different summertime rather similar Euro 2016.

"We're truthful arrogant of each different and what we achieved," says Ledley.

"Nobody thought we'd bash it. When I locomotion down the thoroughfare now, everyone says, 'Thank you for 2016, the champion summertime of my life'."

James tin attest to that. "It remains the champion period of my life," helium says. "I don't deliberation you often cognize it's the champion period of your beingness arsenic it's happening."

With the payment of hindsight, it is laughable to deliberation you could find a Welsh shot instrumentality who would disagree.

You tin perceive to each 3 episodes of Iconic: The Summer that Changed Welsh Football connected BBC Sounds.