A new era begins for the Cymru WU17 and WU19 intermediate teams with Pete Wilson and Nia Davies taking charge of the respective age-groups heading into the 2024/25 cycle of international fixtures.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for myself to be able to work with this talented group of players and staff as we look to hopefully get more success building through the pathway like we’ve seen in recent months,” said Wilson, who moves up from the WU16 squad. “Working with these players previously over the last few years and working with younger age groups has given me an appreciation of the needs of the game, where we want to get these players to and where we want these players to be now as we hit this qualifying campaign.”
Like Wilson, Davies is also making the step-up with her appointment as head coach of the under 19s having previously held the same position with the under 17s. “It’s an honour to represent Wales as a coach in any age group,” she explained. “I think the under 19s is the age group where we can really prepare players for the step-up to the seniors. I think it’s a really big opportunity to progress the players and hopefully give them the best opportunity to make that step into senior football.
“A lot of them have come through the Academy programme as well so it’s good that I know them. But I think it’s important to keep things as fresh as possible so we don’t get complacent, not just myself as a coach with the players, but also for the players not to get complacent with me. It’s important to keep pushing and keep challenging the players. The standard obviously gets higher as the age group goes higher. So it’s important that we don’t get complacent within our environment.”
Continuity is key when developing the next generation of Cymru stars, and the experience that both coaches bring to their new roles from working within the Welsh football pathway will serve them well at a time when there is a real desire to progress players through the intermediate ranks. “We run a real bespoke model here in Wales in terms of our Academy programme and with the link between our under 15s through to our seniors,” Wilson added.
“The staff collaborate together and work as a team. It’s important for us and myself to know what the younger age groups do and what we can bring to the table. But then it’s also important knowing these players on a personal level, so we can hopefully progress them as footballers into the under 19s, and more importantly, into our senior international environment.”
Senior Cymru head coach Rhian Wilkinson is currently preparing for the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 play-off against Slovakia in October, but since her appointment in February the former Canada international has shown herself to be a true advocate of bringing through and developing the young talent at her disposal. “We’re lucky with Rhian that she’s really open to looking at youth players,” said Davies. “The opportunity for players to have that experience is so vital. They still have a lot to learn, but going into that senior environment is a massive thing for the players.”
Teenage defender Mayzee Davies is one player who has benefited from the opportunites presented by the pathway in place. “It’s a fantastic testament to all the work that’s been done over a number of years,” said Wilson. “I remember taking Mayzee when she played two years above her age when we went away to Portugal many years ago and played in the national stadium. For her to now have three caps with the senior women’s team, it’s just an honour and a privilege to be part of that pathway. As a staff we’re just proud and we want to see it continue.”
“The players, even when they are on the bench or even getting a little bit of game time with the seniors, it’s a massively proud moment as a coach,” added Davies. “Not just for me, but the coaches that have coached them in the past. Even the grassroots coaches that have been involved with these players, it’s a massive honour for everyone. It’s not just one coach, it’s a number of coaches that have impacted on them in some way, and seeing them being called up for seniors is a massive, massive thing.”
Both teams return to competitive action later this year with their respective UEFA qualifying campaigns with the WU17 expecting a tough League A test against Switzerland, Slovenia and hosts Portugal in October before the WU19 squad head to Bosnia and Herzegovina a month later where they will also face Lithhuania and Georgia in League B. The focus will return to results, but the real success will be in the progress of the players looking to use the opportunity to move a step closer to the senior squad.
“It’ll be a tough test but that’s what we want,” Wilson explained. “We want to be playing League A nations. We want to be testing ourselves against the top teams because that’s the only way we’re going to produce players. So having the tests that we’ve got coming up from our friendly fixtures in September through to the League A campaign, we’re really looking forward to it. It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be testing, but we know we’re doing everything possible to give these players the best possible opportunity to succeed.”
“We’re in Group B so we probably expected to do well in in that three-game tournament,” Davies added. “It will be good experience as hopefully we’ll have a lot of possession and we’ll have a lot of opportunities to get in their final third and try things, so we’ll make the most of the opportunity. We’ll not take anything for granted, as that first goal can sometimes be hard to find. But it’s about doing the right things, following the game plan and getting those wins to get us out of Group B and into Group A to have better opposition. As long as we perform well, I have all the faith in our players.”
