SENEDD Members criticised plans to spend £800,000 less on securing a legacy from Wales’ historic appearance at the Women’s Euros compared with the men’s World Cup.

Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru’s shadow culture secretary, raised concerns about the Welsh Government’s £1m legacy fund for this summer’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 in Switzerland.

She said: “Whilst I welcome the investment from the Welsh Government, I don’t accept that nearly half the funding allocated for the World Cup in Qatar is acceptable.

“After all, it’s the first time ever in the history of women’s football here in Wales that the team has qualified for any major tournament.

“It’s a huge opportunity, not only to promote Wales internationally but to promote participation … especially among women and girls, as part of a preventative health strategy.”

The women’s team will kick off their campaign against the Netherlands on July 5, with games against France and defending champions England to follow.

Culture minister Jack Sargeant announced the £1m support fund and a marketing campaign aimed at promoting Wales in a written statement on February 18.

During topical questions the next day, Ms Fychan warned lessons have not been learned from an evaluation of Welsh Government-funded activities at the 2022 World Cup.

She told the Senedd: “This once again feels like a reactive approach rather than forming part of a wider strategy when our national teams in all sports qualify for major tournaments or major tournaments are held here.”

She added: “The fact that the first steering group meeting didn’t take place until last week and the fact that the fund was only announced yesterday – 11 weeks after the women’s team qualified on December 4 – seems to indicate that precious time has been lost.”

According to the evaluation, the Welsh Government spent a total of about £3.8m on the 2022 World Cup including £1.8m on an equivalent legacy fund and £1.7m for marketing.

Responding to questions in the Senedd, economy secretary Rebecca Evans said: “The £1m fund is a significant opportunity for the Welsh government to support projects and activities that celebrate and create a legacy for Wales women’s historic achievement.”

Ms Evans stressed: “Time hasn’t been wasted, it’s been used in terms of engaging with our partners to explore what the core objective should be for this particular fund and for our approach to the tournament more widely.”

She said priorities will include promoting Wales to a global audience, projecting the nation’s values around equality and inclusion, and encouraging increased participation.

Ms Evans told Senedd Members that meaningful performance targets will be attached to the £1m fund, adding that expressions of interest will open on February 21.

Gareth Davies, the Conservatives’ shadow culture minister, said demand for women’s football is growing while Welsh Government funding is going down.

He asked: “How is the Welsh Government ensuring sufficient resources are allocated … to engage more with women and girls to ensure there are no barriers to entry and we can ensure parity of esteem across the football sector?”

Ms Evans said: “This is the first time we’ve ever put in place a package of funding of this sort for a Euros tournament. I think that really signifies the keenness to maximise the potential.”

In his written statement, Mr Sargeant pointed to a £10m budget for sporting facilities in 2025/26 and £24m invested over the past three years.

He wrote: “The Welsh Government is working very closely with the Football Association of Wales and other key partners to maximise this unique opportunity.”

IT WAS a return to the rostrum for James Williams and co-driver Ross Whittock on the opening round of the Probite British Rally Championship. The Orange Amps backed pairing clinched a fine third overall on the Tarmac-based East Riding Stages Rally in Yorkshire at the weekend (23 February).

Welshman James Williams is eyeing a title assault in Britain’s premier rallying series this season and armed with a four-wheel-drive, turbo-charged Hyundai i20 Rally2 – the 26-year-old aimed to get his campaign off to a good start on the season opener.

54 miles through the closed road lanes around Beverley near Hull was the fast and furious sprint to open the 2025 calendar for the Newcastle Emlyn driver. Williams opened his account with third on the opening timed test, before another four top three stage times kept him in the podium hunt right until the very end and despite a last stage push, he missed out on second overall by just 9.2 seconds.

The champagne spray was not only special for the Hyundai driver – it was a breakthrough event for MRF Tyres who are backing James and his team for this campaign. The East Riding Stages was the Indian tyre manufacturers first British championship debut event and to walk away with a podium against the established brands is one they are immensely proud of too.

The achievements kept on coming for the team in Orange. As well as third overall on the event, third in the British Rally Championship, James also made a last minute decision to register for the National Asphalt Championship, which also runs alongside most of the BRC Tarmac events. His clean run through the 10 stages saw him come out on top in the sealed surface category and Williams leads the series which heads to the Manx Rally on the Isle of Man next – the event Williams and Whittock won last year.

“I can be pleased with this event – we ticked off a lot of things,” said Williams. “To get a BRC podium after a difficult 2024 is a good way to start the year – but I am hungry for more.
“A big thank you to Ross, Orange Amps and all of the team for putting together such a great package and to get a National Asphalt class win and to spray the champagne is a great reward for all of them. A podium for new partners MRF [Tyres] is a great way to start the relationship too – giving them some silverware on the first event is a positive start to learning these tyres and giving them important data and feedback.

“As I said, I am pleased – but also a little bit empty, as I want to be fighting for wins. Third is a nice start and plenty to build on for the next round.”

The hour-long highlight show from the opening round, will be shown on Wednesday 5th March on ITV4 and ITVX – where audiences around the UK and Ireland will be able to catch-up on James’ Yorkshire adventures.

James would like to thank his team of loyal partners: Orange, MRF tyres, Hyundai Motorsport, Kissdental, Barri Davies Electrical, Rallycover, Omolagato Watches, Morrisons Daily, P1 Racewear, Nicky Grist Motorsports, Lucky Vacation Homes, Elite Clinical Excellence, Davies and Davies Furniture, Sinclair Group, WGD Plant Hire, West Coast Finance, Outback Outfitters.

East Williamston remains dominant

THE LATEST round of fixtures in the South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association’s Friendly League saw some strong performances as teams battled for points in Week 18.

Hundleton secured a commanding 9-1 victory over Llanteg, while Kilgetty edged past Badgers 7-3. East Williamston continued their impressive run with an 8-2 win against Lamphey.

The fixture between Carew and St Johns was cancelled, while no report was received for the Cosheston v St Twynnells match. Reynalton, who had a bye this week, played a catch-up match, defeating Cosheston 9-1.

League Standings (Week 18)

The competition continues next week as teams fight for position in the standings.