FAW launches ambitious ten-year strategy to transform Welsh football
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
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The new strategy aims to grow the sport across Wales while strengthening the game at both domestic and international levels.
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The Football Association of Wales (FAW)'s Llunio Cymru (Shaping Wales) strategy is based on more than 3,000 contributions from across all levels of the Welsh football community. It runs from 2026 through to 2036 and sets out several targets, such as increasing the number of registered players from 120,000 to 160,000, including at least 20,000 female players.
The strategy also seeks to reduce the number of people leaving the game during their teenage years, and to expand opportunities for disabled players and communities that have traditionally been underrepresented in football.
Grassroots football is at the heart of the strategy, which calls for more investment into people and infrastructure. Targets include increasing the number of qualified coaches by 30%, providing greater support to volunteers, and having every competitive match at Under-12 level and above officiated by a qualified referee.
Connecting the football pyramid
Llunio Cymru aims to strengthen the pathway between grassroots football, academies, professional clubs and the Welsh national teams. New elite academies will be established, supported by the wider academy structure across Wales and accompanied by increased investment into player development.
The strategy identifies four performance pathways – including professional club academies and domestic competitions – with ambitions for each pathway to produce at least two players annually for the Welsh senior men’s and women’s national teams. Retaining talented dual-national players also remains a priority, with the FAW aiming to keep 95% of eligible players within its youth system.
"Over the next decade, we will grow opportunity at every level of the game."
The FAW also aims to qualify for 50% of major international tournaments and progress to the knockout stages at UEFA EURO 2028 and the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Designed as a roadmap for the next decade, Llunio Cymru aims to use football as a force for community development while strengthening Wales’ position on the European and global stage.
"Llunio Cymru is our commitment to building a confident, successful and inclusive Cymru through football," said FAW chief executive Noel Mooney.
“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. Over the next decade, we will grow opportunity at every level of the game while aiming for success that the whole nation can share."