The Four Pillars of Sustainable Success

For decades, the story of Welsh football was defined by moments of individual brilliance and near misses. Much of our success was reliant on a single generation of elite talent rather than a sustainable system. But as we have seen across the global game, hope is not a strategy.

To secure our future, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) had to move away from a "passive" model, where we simply accepted the players the club system produced, to a proactive high-performance architecture.

To compete with nations possessing vastly larger populations and budgets, we established a robust framework that integrates every resource — from U13 regional squads to the senior setup — into a singular vision.

How the Welsh Way was Created

This is the framework of the "Welsh Way," built upon four strategic pillars designed to ensure that when our legends retire, the next generation is ready to step seamlessly into the void.

1. Talent Identification 

We operate in a hyper-competitive market where dual-eligible players often have a choice between Wales, England, or other nations. The solution is based in early engagement and cultural attachment.

A decade ago, the FAW engaged with fewer than 10 clubs. Today, we work with 96. We completely restructured our scope to capture talent early, launching a regional system that identifies players at the U13–U15 level across North and South Wales.

Crucially, our talent identification is not purely technical; it is emotional. We bring these young players into the Welsh "family" long before they sign a professional contract. We teach them the anthem, the history, and the culture. By the time a player is 16, they feel a deep sense of belonging. If a competitor nation approaches them later, the emotional bond with Wales is already forged.

80% of the squad that qualified for our recent World Cup campaign began in this regional programme at age 13.

2. Person-Centred Support 

Many national associations make the mistake of trying to dictate physical performance to professional clubs. Our stance is different. We recognise that the club is the primary driver of a player's development. Our role is to add value, not duplicate work.

We established a "triangle of engagement" between the club, the player, and the association. Led by our performance experts, we align our medical, nutritional, and psychological support with the player's club environment. We even borrow staff from elite teams — like Nottingham Forest or Crystal Palace — to staff our international camps. This ensures that when a player joins Wales, the environment feels as professional and seamless as their Premier League club

3. Effective Pathways and Cap Accumulation

Our research into successful international teams revealed a clear correlation: players typically need to accumulate 30 to 35 youth caps before they can successfully transition to senior international football.

This data now drives our entire pathway management. If we identify a high-potential talent at U15, we don't just hope they progress; we strategically manage their journey to ensure they hit that experience benchmark.

This rigour extends to the women’s game, where we are aggressively driving standards. By having our U16 girls’ academy squads play against U14 boys’ academy teams, we are bridging the physical gap required for international competition. We are currently on track to grow the female player pool from 12,000 to 20,000 over the next four years.

4. The Coaching System as a USP

Coach education is our most potent USP (unique selling point). We do not simply issue badges; we instil a specific identity.

Through the National Syllabus, we have codified the "Welsh Way." This isn't just a philosophy; it is a structured methodology defined by clear principles of play across all moments of the game: in possession, out of possession, and transition.

When coaches like Mikel Arteta or Thierry Henry study with us for their UEFA Pro Licence, they are engaging with this specific high-performance framework. We are developing coaches who understand how to design sessions with game realism, ensuring that the intensity and decision-making demands of training mirror the international match environment

The Road Ahead for the Welsh Way

This strategy is the blueprint that returned us to the world stage. It is about succession planning — ensuring that the system is robust enough to produce talent in cycles, rather than generations.

By aligning talent ID, elite support, data-driven pathways, and a unified technical identity, we ensure that Wales does not just compete, but belongs.