21 October 2024

For the first time ever, the remarkable history of women's football in Wales will be featured in a special TV programme.

Yr Hawl i Chwarae which will be on S4C platforms at 9.00pm on Tuesday 22 October, tells how Welsh women were banned from playing football for over half a century and talks to many affected by the ban and those who fought for recognition.

The programme hears from some of the game's most prominent figures explaining the huge effort made to lobby the Football Association for change - Michelle Adams (Wales 1973-1994), Karen Jones (Wales 1976-1996) and Deputy Chair of the UEFA Women's Football Committee, Professor Laura McAllister (Wales 1994-2001).

The ban had an ever-lasting impact on the women's game in Wales, years after it was lifted. In the programme the star of the Welsh team, Jess Fishlock, admits that she felt she had to move from Wales to follow her dreams of playing:

"I just fell in love with the game hoping that at some point there would be a league or a team I could play in - but the truth was I had to leave because there really wasn't anything in Wales that would've allowed for me to have got what I got when I left."

As the first player in Welsh history to earn 150 caps and break the record for the number of goals for Wales, Fishlock emphasizes the importance of remembering the history:

"You have to understand the history because it will help you understand why certain things are the way that they are...We have to keep fighting. I feel like I've said that my whole Wales career and I've played for Wales for over 15 years and I'm still fighting for the change."

Through archive clips and personal stories, the story of Yr Hawl i Chware spans decades - from the half-century ban to the national team becoming an official part of the Welsh Football Association in 1992 and the success of the game in recent years.

The programme, presented by Ffion Eluned Owen, pays tribute to those who were instrumental in fighting for the right for girls and women to play the game and also talks to those who are key to the success of the game today - Cymru Team Manager Rhian Wilkinson, the versatile player Jess Fishlock and the two sisters from Trasfynydd Mared Griffiths (Wales and Manchester United) and Cadi Griffiths (Wales under 15).

In 2022, Wales almost reached the World Cup competition with 15,000 fans coming to the stadium to watch the game against Bosnia.

But the highlight of the programme is the special celebration in October when official caps were finally presented to all the women who played football for Wales between 1973 and 1992. In this period, 94 women played for Wales , but none of them received a cap because the team was not under the care of the Welsh Football Association.

Commentator and former player Gwennan Harries said:

"There were obstacles when they weren't playing but not half as much compared to these so it's lovely to see them being celebrated but getting the recognition they fully deserve."

Receiving her cap after decades of waiting, Shelley Walters, former Wales player between 1975-82, said:

"I'm absolutely over the moon - 49 years but it's here and nobody can take it from me now. And to think that now I can say I'm actually recognized as a full International by the FAW is a long time coming but really worth the wait."

Yr Hawl i Chwarae

Nos Fawrth, 22 Hydref 21.00

Ar alw: S4C Clic, iPlayer a llwyfannau eraill

Cynhyrchiad Whisper Films ar gyfer S4C