00:00Rhiannon Roberts will be carrying the hopes of past, present and future Wales players
00:07when the team makes its historic debut at the Women's European Championships in Switzerland
00:13this summer.
00:15It marks the first time Wales has qualified for a major tournament following their dramatic
00:20play-off victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin last December.
00:26Having played their first international in 1973, Wales' women's team faced decades of
00:31struggle.
00:32It wasn't until 1993 that they were officially recognised by the FAW.
00:37Even then, progression was slow and in 2003 they were controversially withdrawn from the
00:42Euros due to travel costs.
00:45Since 2010 though, they've been appointed full-time head coaches and the team has seen
00:49steady growth with several near-misses before finally breaking through to qualify.
00:56The FAW's Women's and Girls' Strategy launched in 2021 and an equal pay agreement established
01:03with the men's team in 2022 have transformed the women's set-up.
01:08Roberts, capped 77 times since her 2015 debut, has seen so much change throughout the side
01:15from medical staff to equal payment in all areas.
01:20We've got to be thankful of what people have done in the past and we've got to be appreciative
01:26of the position that we're in now and we need to keep constantly bashing down those barriers
01:32too for those to come and take our shirts later on.
01:37We've just increased everything off the pitch.
01:41We're equal to the men now and we're equal in many ways, not just equal pay.
01:47Our media team, our medical team, everything, our coaching staff, everything off the pitch
01:56is equal to the men's.
01:58Now as they prepare to face England, France and the Netherlands in Group D, Roberts and
02:03her team-mates are focused on being brave, competing hard and making their nation proud,
02:09embodying the spirit of for us, for them and for her.
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