'Unacceptable' gap costing Wales young talent claim

'Unacceptable' gap costing Wales young talent claimImage source, FAWBySimon DaviesBBC Sport WalesPublished3 minutes agoCampaigners fear young women footballers could be lost if Wales does not bridge the "unacceptable" gap between youth and senior international level.The mother of Wales squad goalkeeper Soffia Kelly is calling for the creation of an under-21 or under-23 squad - or both - as part of a "sustainable pathway" for young players.England and Scotland both have teams at under-23 level while some young players in Wales simply "drop out" of the development system."There's no pathway [in Wales] but Scotland and England have. The boys have got it. European countries have got it. Why have we not got it?" asked Soraya Kelly."It's not rocket science. We just want to have equal opportunities as our boys in Wales. With everything that's going on with women's football, this should be a given."The campaign - Equality For Our Women And Girls - follows a petition that Soraya Kelly presented to the previous Welsh Government asking for funding to enable the Football Association of Wales (FAW) to:create women's under-21 and under-23 national teamsexpand access through regional talent identification and outreachguarantee equal media promotionThe Senedd's petitions committee noted the good work already being done by the FAW to promote women's and girl's football and agreed to forward the petition's request.The FAW has been approached for comment.Image source, FAWImage caption, The mother of Soffia Kelly has launched the campaignUntil recently there had been little need for those age-grade teams due to the absence of any official tournaments run by Uefa, European football's governing body.Uefa has told the BBC there are no current plans to introduce such competitions, though a new independent under-23 European League was created in July 2024.England won the 2026 editio...