{"id":11101,"date":"2025-07-22T13:35:01","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T12:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/?p=11101"},"modified":"2025-07-27T17:36:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T16:36:32","slug":"cardiff-city-champions-league-megan-bowen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/news\/cardiff-city-champions-league-megan-bowen\/","title":{"rendered":"Megan Bowen: Champions League win is a key goal for Cardiff City"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Megan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cardiff City defender Megan Bowen says her side are embracing the test of their upcoming UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League<\/a> first qualifying round tie against Athlone Town.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bluebirds, who are set to face their Irish counterparts on Wednesday 30 July, are entering their third consecutive European campaign and have firmly established themselves as the dominant force in Welsh domestic football \u2014 winning three straight Adran Premier titles and completing a historic treble in the 2023\/24 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following hard-fought ties in recent years against FC Gintra, Shelbourne, FC Twente, and \u017dFK Ljuboten, the squad is determined to finally make their mark on the European stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more<\/a>

Cardiff City v Athlone Town<\/h2>

All you need to know ahead of European clash<\/p>

Read more<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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\u201cIt\u2019s fantastic to be playing in Europe again,\u201d Bowen said. \u201cI\u2019m always someone who wants to push myself, and I\u2019m really getting that chance at Cardiff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a club that likes breaking barriers. We’ve gone unbeaten, won the treble \u2014 and now that next step is about winning games in the Champions League. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“That\u2019s our goal as a squad. Every year we regroup, set new targets, and a Champions League win is one we\u2019re still chasing. But I think with the growth and development in this squad, it\u2019s something that can happen for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a tough off-season, especially training on your own. But as soon as we came back in, everyone\u2019s mindset was on the Champions League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cardiff
Bowen was a crucial part of Cardiff’s treble-winning team in 2022\/23<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some tough games against strong English sides in pre-season, but those matches have shown us where our strengths and weaknesses lie. That\u2019s vital as we head into Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite being just 19 years old, Bowen has emerged as one of Cardiff\u2019s most dependable performers, known for her composure in defence and her ability to step up when it matters most. She has captained the Bluebirds on multiple occasions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a brilliant few years at Cardiff,\u201d she added. \u201cAfter speaking to the girls, I\u2019ve come in at a time when more positive things have started to happen here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now in a position where other teams and managers expect us to win every game \u2014 and that pressure is a privilege. We just want to keep proving why we\u2019re the best team in Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Megan
Cardiff Met FC Twente in the first qualifying round of the Champions League last year<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her transition from a promising youngster at Barry Town United to a mainstay in Cardiff\u2019s backline has been swift, and Bowen credits both the club and her personal journey for helping to develop her leadership qualities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though I\u2019m only 19, I feel like I\u2019ve built up a lot of experience \u2014 from my time here and at Barry,\u201d she explained. \u201cThis will be my third Champions League campaign, so I feel like one of the more experienced players in our squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHopefully, we can come together again this year for another strong domestic season and make real progress in Europe too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowen also praised the increasing quality of the Genero Adran Premier, highlighting how rising standards and new talent have helped raise the overall level of competition in Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe league has massively improved since I joined. Back then, there was a big points gap at the top. Now, we\u2019ve got battles for the top four going down to the final day \u2014 like we saw with Wrexham and Swansea. Teams that weren\u2019t competing before are now challenging the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Iain
Iain Darbyshire has guided Cardiff to a trophy-laden period<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to see more players coming in from England too. They\u2019re no longer thinking they have to play there to develop. We\u2019re showing you can thrive in Wales.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bowen also had praise for Cardiff boss Iain Darbyshire, who has overseen the club’s trophy-laden spell since taking charge in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I came to the club as a young, inexperienced player, he was brilliant,\u201d she said. \u201cHe always had an arm around me and guided me through, helping me become one of the leaders in the squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can now say I\u2019ve played in Europe twice \u2014 and I wouldn\u2019t have done that without Iain and the whole group. The team I\u2019ve had around me over the last few years has made me the player I am. They\u2019ve been invaluable. Now, we\u2019re all looking to thrive, push on, and take that next big step.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Megan Bowen says Cardiff City are embracing the test of their upcoming UEFA Women\u2019s Champions League tie against Athlone Town.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263,"featured_media":11106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"ftr_img_focal":{"x":0.5,"y":0.21},"footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"class_list":["post-11101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adran-premier"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/263"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11101"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11153,"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11101\/revisions\/11153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faw.cymru\/adran-leagues\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}