#Wales Football Association

[voltaconnect]

Asamoah Gyan is eligible to start his coaching career after being awarded UEFA licence B by the Football Association of Wales.

“Your new UEFA License Coach is here ❤️⚽️; thanks to all who made it possible & a special one to the Wales FA, this is just the beginning . January 2023 Coaching Clinic loading 🙏🏿” He wrote via his official Twitter account.

[newshuntermag]

Asamoah Gyan Becomes UEFA License Coach

Asamoah Gyan Becomes UEFA License Coach

Ghanaian footballer, Asamoah Gyan, has become a UEFA License Coach. The former captain for the Black Stars of Ghana announced his new title in a post-Newshuntermag.com came across on Twitter. Gyan began the training for the license in June 2022. He thanked the Wales Football Association and all those who made it possible. Asamoah Gyan indicated that this is just the beginning. He wrote:…

[calciopics]

Equal pay: Football Association of Wales agree landmark deal

Wales' men's and women's senior players will be paid the same for representing their country for the first time.

The Football Association of Wales [FAW] have agreed a deal that will see equal pay come into effect immediately.

The Wales men's senior team have agreed to a 25% pay cut to enable a 25% rise for the women's team that will mean parity for representing Wales.

"I am really happy about the equal pay, it is about equality," Wales boss Gemma Grainger explained.

"Together Stronger has been the mantra across the Cymru national teams for us all, both on and off the pitch as we look to put Wales on the world stage," Wales' men's and women's teams said in a joint statement.

"As part of the FAW's strive towards equality, we are now proud to announce that together, our men's and women's teams have agreed to an equal pay structure for future international matches.

"We hope that this will allow future generations of boys and girls to see that there is equality across Welsh international football, which is important for society as a whole."

The new equal pay agreement runs until 2027.

Wales' women have never been paid the same as Wales' men for playing international football, but Grainger, who recently signed a new deal to remain national team boss until 2027, says she feels paying her side equally will send a powerful message.

"We want our players to embody Together Stronger, the collaboration with the men's team is something we want to continue," she told BBC Sport Wales.

"Hopefully that collaboration will continue to grow. "Equality and making sure what we have here is equal is so important to us. The women's game is growing and will continue to grow."

Wales join other nations such as United States of America, England, Brazil, Australia, Norway and New Zealand in paying their players the same international match fee.

Scotland women's national football team are taking legal action against the Scottish FA in a fight over equal pay and conditions after talks broke down.

Discussions over agreeing a new pay deal to give parity to Wales' women have been going on for well over a year, with talks initially taking place in November 2021.

FAW chief executive Noel Mooney has been in ongoing discussions with Wales women's senior leadership group, which includes Wales' most-capped player Jess Fishlock, women's captain Sophie Ingle and Wales' record goalscorer Helen Ward.

An agreement on equal pay was expedited by Wales' men agreeing to a cut to their international match fee, with every member of Robert Page's squad agreeing unanimously to do so.

"The FAW is a modern, progressive movement that seeks to improve each day," Mooney said.

This is another step towards becoming one of the world's great sports organisations and we thank both the men's and women's squads for their brilliant co-operation in getting this agreed."

By Michael Pearlman (BBC Sport Wales)

[theroyalsandi]

British Royal Family - The Prince of Wales, President of The Football Association, celebrates after Trent Alexander-Arnold of England scores the team's fifth and winning penalty in the penalty shoot out at the UEFA Euro 2024 Quarter-final match between England and Switzerland at the Dusseldorf Arena, Germany | July 06, 2024

[thewales-family]

The Prince of Wales, President of the Football Association, and Prince George of Wales attend the Emirates FA Cup Final match between Manchester City and Manchester United, at Wembley Stadium in London, England -May 25th 2024.

[louisupdates]

Prince William's Royal Night Out

Published Jun 21, 2024 at 4:49 AM EDT | Updated Jun 21, 2024 at 9:44 AM EDT

Prince William visited Germany on Thursday to attend a high-profile soccer match on the evening before his 42nd birthday.

The prince was photographed alongside European royalty at the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament group stage match between England and Denmark. He attended in his capacity as president of the Football Association in Britain, a role he was given by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006.

[…]

William not only met European royalty at the game but also pop royalty, in the form of former One Direction band member Louis Tomlinson.

Footage of the prince and the singer chatting behind the scenes at the stadium has gone viral online. It is not the first time the two have met. The pair were photographed together at the Royal Variety charity performance in 2014 and 2017.

In 2018 when William and Kate named their youngest son Louis, Tomlinson posted a lighthearted social media message dedicated to the prince, including the line: "Young Louis welcome to the world. I'll take you under my wing lad."

[charlotte-of-wales]

NEWS: Prince William has stepped down as the President of the Football Association (FA).

His decision to step down from the role is motivated by his greater focus on new roles and responsibilities in Wales and as Duke of Cornwall.

He will become Patron of the Football Association in a more scaled-back role.

[world-of-wales]

↬ The Prince of Wales' new patronages - Football Association & Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association announcing his new role || 24 JULY 2024

[tourdion]

factors to consider:

the existence of the world cup & continental championships & there have always been various convoluted rules about players allowed to enter eg in the past only amateur players and now only under 23

the fact that the uk normally plays separately as england scotland wales & northern ireland and "team gb" generally do not enter a team and britain has only entered an olympic football team once since 1972 which was when london hosted in 2012

*ie separately as england scotland wales northern ireland (no complaints about the use of "gb" i am not on the olympic committee...)

[scotianostra]

On June 4th 1977 Scotland beat The Auld Enemy 2-1 at Wembley Stadium and decided to take some souvenirs home with them.

Up until its culmination in 1983, the Home International Championship was the oldest international association football tournament in the world, and contested between Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Around two-thirds of a 98,103 strong crowd at Wembley Stadium belonged to Ally’s Army, on a day that would live on in the memory of many a Scotland fan that had the privilege to be there.

The initial stages of the game passed without producing much. As half-time approached, Scotland began to press and as the only team creating chances, an inevitable first goal came from Gordon McQueen off the back of a free kick emerging from a hand ball.

Dalglish sealed the deal with a second and ensured this famous Scotland side left Wembley triumphant, despite a late penalty allowing England to claim a goal.

As the final whistle blew exuberant Scotland fans brought their celebrations down from the stands and onto the pitch. Even Sir Rod Stewart, donned in Scotland attire, could be seen sailing atop a sea of tartan.

One story emerging from the revelry was that of 21-year-old Alex Torrance, who became a national celebrity after being pictured atop the crossbar amidst the jubilations on the pitch, before it famously snapped in half. When Torrance passed away in 2010, Rod Stewart was one of those to send his family flowers all those years later.

The game itself and the jubilant aftermath in the summer of 1977 has gone down as an iconic moment in history for Scotland fans, binding them together in a way that only football can.

[svld99]

I keep thinking about how Colin would react if AFC Richmond, where to get a visit from the Prince of Wales, Prince William who is the president of the football association. The day the team is made aware of the visit. Colin storms out of the locker room swearing in Welsh the whole time. The next day after a conversation with Michael and Isaac. Colin goes to Rebecca’s office where Trent the coaching staff  and keeley are waiting for him. Where a discussion is held on what to do when William comes to the club. So they come to a decision that he will miss training that day. Along with AFC Richmond, giving a very big donation to a charity in Wells. The charity is working on making sure more people know the welsh language. Also the day before the visit Colin educate everyone on the team why the welsh people want their independence. Every single one of the himbos also makes their own donation too the charity.

[the-empress-7]

The Football Association, the governing body of England’s football took to X, formerly Twitter handle, and announced Prince William’s new patronage.

“We're pleased to announce that His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, is to become Patron of the FA,” the tweet reads.

Waaaaahhhhh 💜💜💜

Just like his Grandmother used to be 🙂

[theroyalsandi]

British Royal Family - The Prince of Wales, President of Football Association, presenting shirt to England manager Gareth Southgate and skipper Harry Kane as he wish the England squad good luck ahead of the Euros at St George’s Park (Photo by Andrew Parsons) | June 10, 2024

[thewales-family]

The Prince of Wales, President of the Football Association, and Prince George of Wales attend the Emirates FA Cup Final match between Manchester City and Manchester United, at Wembley Stadium in London, England -May 25th 2024.

[abubblingcandle]

If you ever wanted to share some of those feelings about prem teams and poor roster management, I would love to hear about it! I'm still very much in learning mode and love to know people's thoughts :D

Oh all the time!! I'm going to put this under the cut because this is going to be a long one gang! (This is also going to target Man City a bit, and Nottingham Forest, and Chelsea a bit as they are the current examples I could think of so ... sorry guys)

Introduction - Premier League Squad Rules

So in general the Premier League squad rules are that you can name a 25 man squad to play in the Premier League that season. Only 17 of those players can be not "home-grown" and under 21s are not included in this list.

A "home-grown" player is a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday.

So these rulings massively encourage teams to sign very talented Under-21s to their academies (ideally under 18s) so that they can play them if needed and keep them so they class as home-grown when they get older.

Point 1 - Homegrown Players

Therefore, what a lot of rich title challenging prem teams do is they find reliable, would be fine in the team but not exceptional, cheap homegrown players to fill those slots and make use of that 'extra' space. For example Man City have a third choice keeper Scott Carson who (credit to him) has the most lush job imaginable. He plays like 10 minutes a year or maybe a few matches in lesser trophies but because he is a homegrown player they might as well have him on the squad list instead of an international third choice keeper who would take up one of the valuable spots. So if you have no intention of playing a player except for in dire, there is truly no one else situations then get a homegrown player from a smaller team for cheap.

But! What this does mean is it can really hamper the careers of these homegrown players because the club has no intention of playing them (often the managers don't even really like them or play a formation that suits them), they are just there because you might as well. An example of this is Kalvin Phillips at Man City. Now by now a lot of people on here know how much of a fan of Kalvin I am (he is a wonderful human being, excellent defensive mid and all round sweet guy), but even that aside he does not play more than 15 minutes in a match for Man City because there is no space for him. He is used to rest players when matches are already won and that's it really. The only position he could fill is filled by Rodri and if Rodri can't play then Pep changes the whole formation. SO he is only there for dire emergencies. But he is an England player, he is national standard and despite all the medals, the lack of squad rotation is harming his career in a massive way.

So the home-grown player rule is great to improve development of English players but it encourages teams to sign players they don't really want or need because there are spots to fill.

Point 2 - If you want him then I'll have him

(This is particularly the case with under-21s)

With clubs being bought by oil money now, this leads to a "throw money at the situation approach" which means that as soon as a player is highly rated then lots of clubs jump at the chance to buy that player whether that is actually a player they need or fits in their scheme. If this player is under 21 then it's better because they don't fit into the 25 man squad. For example this summer transfer window Chelsea signed 12 players. Three of them were defensive midfielders ... a position that AT MOST you play 2 of at once. And they already had three! This panic of "oh no, this team want this player so he must be better than what I've already got" leads again to teams getting players that don't improve the team and/or are surplus to requirements. But you can't throw your multimillion dollar signing who you have very publicly signed to the wayside! So they have to play no matter what because so much effort and money has gone into their signing. You can't bench someone who cost £100m for an academy player or you will be torn to shreds even if it might be better for a team to rest their star or if god forbid he ain't performing, it is so difficult for the manager for the manager to make changes.

Point 3 - Win at all costs!

So, being part of a Premier League side means congested fixtures. You might have European competition, you might have FA Cup, you might have World Club Cup, you might have League Cup. So this means playing a lot of football! You might think "Candle, contrary to your argument here this sounds like a great opportunity to rotate in players so that people don't get tired or injured?" WRONG! Particularly in mid table clubs, cups are their best chance to win trophies. If you want to win trophies you play your starters to not risk an upset. But then you need to play your starters in the league because league performance is the most important thing for Euro qualification or to avoid relegation. Big clubs also don't want the shame of being victim to a giant killing so may play starters against lower league sides to avoid that. If you are worried about your league position and lose to Arsenal in the cup, fine. If you are worried about your league position and lose to Forest Green Rovers in the cup, you are a disgrace and an embarrassment to the sport. Therefore encourages lack of rotation because you are more likely to win if your best players are out there.

Point 4 - Attention Span of a Goldfish

The fans are to blame for this ... sorry fans. If you rotate in a player, and that player has a bad game or is lacking match fitness then managers get torn to shreds in the media, by the fans and the board of their club. So that player gets benched again, even if it was a blip or against a superior side. If a player is playing well and is benched for rest and then the team loses then managers get torn to shreds in the media, by the fans and the board of their club. The culture doesn't encourage looking after the players and maybe accepting that there might be some iffy performances for a player to get settled into the side or slightly less impressive performances from fringe players. For example Darwin "Captain Chaos" Nunez for Liverpool. When he first came to Liverpool he was god awful, couldn't even hit the stands when he shot, got the nickname Captain Chaos because no one knew what he was doing. He kept being benched, because he wasn't doing what the club wanted but all that did was knock his confidence and mean that it was a lot harder to rotate strikers.

Point 5 - Favourite Children

Simple point, most managers have players that they just ... like and others that they don't. Managers are human. You are more likely to pick a player that you like to start than one that might irritate you or you didn't really want on your team EVEN IF it is to the benefit of your favourite child to rest them.

TLDR - Premier League clubs (particularly those at the top of the table) are awful at reducing burnout and injury in their players through rotation. This is partially through team design, external pressures, stupid signings, cost of players, and favouritism. It is bizarre that the teams that have the best depth in squads are the most reluctant to use it

[charlotte-of-wales]

NEWS: The Prince of Wales has taken over a series of new patronages in Wales and Cornwall. A Kensington Palace statement confirms that William is now patron of the Welsh Guards Charity, the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association and president of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association.

The palace also announced that previously held presidencies—the Football Association and Fields in Trust—will now become patronage appointments.

Kensington Palace noted that William “is committed to using his platform to improve the lives of others” through support of organisations and charities that focus on “conservation and the environment, homelessness, military, sport and the emergency services community.”