Heledd Fychan Canol De Cymru - South Wales Central

Following the announcement earlier this week that the Welsh Government will spend £800,000 less on securing a legacy from Wales’ historic appearance at the Women’s Euros, Plaid Cymru spokesperson for sport, Heledd Fychan MS, has criticised the Welsh Government for not implementing the lessons learnt from the review into their approach to the Men’s World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Speaking on the floor of the Senedd after tabling a topical question Ms Fychan questioned the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy on why this decision was taken stating:

Whilst I of course welcome the investment from Welsh Government, I don’t accept the Welsh Government’s defence that nearly half the funding allocated for Qatar has been allocated to this campaign. After all, it’s the first time ever in the history of women’s football here in Wales that the team has qualified for a major tournament and it’s a huge opportunity not only to promote Wales internationally but promote participation in sport here in Wales, especially amongst women and girls, as part of a preventative strategy.

“Further, I am concerned that the lessons learnt from the 2022 world cup have not been implemented and that this once again feels like a reactive approach, rather than forming part of a wider strategy that’s ready to go when our national teams – in all sports – qualify for major tournaments, or when major tournaments are held here in Wales.

“Recommendation 2, 4 and 6 in particular of the evaluation report into the world cup talked about the need to work proactively to identify national and international opportunities, maintain strategic level partnerships and use existing resources to ensure a flexible team can respond to future events to maximise the opportunities for sports and cultural diplomacy. The fact that the first steering group meeting didn’t take place until last week, despite the women’s team qualifying on 4 December seems to indicate that precious time has been lost.”

Further she asked: “Will the Welsh Government therefore commit to publishing – in advance of the tournament – the measures and targets underpinning this investment and further commit to updating the Senedd on how previous recommendations are being incorporated into wider government strategy?”

The previous day, Ms Fychan as Chair of the Senedd’s Wales International Cross-Party Group had facilitated a meeting of the group, which was attended by representatives from both the Football Association of Wales and Welsh Government along with stakeholders that were keen to be involved in securing a legacy from the tournament. Many attendees felt that the Welsh Government were once again taking a reactive rather than proactive approach, and that a wider strategic approach was now needed.

Ms Fychan added: “With Wales due to play their first match in the Euros tournament against the Netherlands on 5 July, time is now of the essence.

“The team have played their part and have qualified. It is time for the Welsh Government to play their own part,  so that this historic moment can maximise benefits for the people of Wales and the Welsh economy. “