Rhiannon Roberts says she’ll have past, present, and future Wales players in mind when the team makes history at the Women’s Euros in Switzerland this summer. The 77-cap defender says the squad has fully embraced the Football Association of Wales’ slogan “For us, for them, for her”, describing it as something that perfectly captures the spirit of the team and their journey to this moment.
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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00:37Even then, progression was slow and in 2003 they were controversially withdrawn from the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.