The Football Association of Wales (FAW) aims to increase the number of registered players in Wales from 120,000 to 160,000 by 2036, including at least 20,000 additional women and girls, under a new ten-year strategy.
Llunio Cymru, the FAW’s strategy for 2026-2036, sets out plans to grow football in every community, strengthen the domestic game and help Cymru’s national teams succeed. The FAW said it gathered over 3,000 contributions through workshops, consultations and sessions across Wales in shaping the plan.
Noel Mooney, FAW Chief Executive, said: “Llunio Cymru is our commitment to building a confident, successful and inclusive Cymru through football. “It is a strategy shaped by the people who make our game special, the players, volunteers, clubs, coaches, referees, supporters and communities across the country.”
The strategy aims to halve the number of 12 to 17-year-olds who leave the game, grow football in the 100 most diverse and deprived communities in Wales and expand opportunities for disabled people to play.
Other targets include increasing the number of affiliated, qualified coaches by 30%, ensuring that 75% of volunteers feel supported and equipped to succeed, and having every competition match at under-12 level and above officiated by a qualified neutral referee by 2035.
The FAW wants every community in Wales to have access to quality football facilities within 15 minutes, with priority for the areas and people who need them most. It will also work to reduce incidents of hate and discrimination by 70% by 2036, with every report of discrimination fully investigated.
On the performance side, the plan includes establishing four elite academies within professional clubs, alongside domestic academies across Wales. The FAW aims to graduate at least two players per calendar year from each pathway into Cymru’s senior men’s and women’s national teams, and to retain 95% of dual-national players within Cymru’s youth national teams.
For the senior teams, the ambition is for Cymru’s men’s and women’s sides to take part in 50% of major international tournaments, reach the knockout stages of UEFA EURO 2028 and the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup, and climb to the men’s top 20 and women’s top 24 in the FIFA rankings.
The strategy also aims to increase engagement with the national leagues by 150% over the next five years and grow the domestic football commercial portfolio by 300%.
Dr David Adams, FAW Chief Football Officer, said: “Welsh identity will remain at the heart of how we develop and represent Cymru. Our ambition is to create a connected pathway that gives every talented Welsh player the chance to reach their potential. “By bringing together grassroots football, academies, domestic and professional clubs, and our national teams, we can provide the coaching, support and performance environment required to compete with the very best.”
Separate High Performance and Participation plans have been published alongside the strategy, and the FAW will release a dedicated Women and Girls’ football plan in November.
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