The Football Association of Wales is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Wales national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Wales national futsal team. It is a member of FIFA, UEFA and the IFAB.
The Wales men's national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales. They have been a member of FIFA since 1946 and a member of UEFA since 1954.
Association football is organised on a separate basis in each of the four constituent countries that make up the United Kingdom (UK), with each having a national football association responsible for the overall management of football within their respective country. There is no United Kingdom national football team. Football has been the most popular sport in the UK since the 1860s. Rugby union, rugby league and cricket are other popular sports.
Association football is one of the most popular sports in Wales, along with rugby union. Wales has produced club teams of varying fortunes since the early birth of football during the Victorian period, and in 1876 a Wales national football team played their first international match. Football has always had a close rivalry with the country's de facto national sport rugby union, and it is much discussed as to which is Wales' more popular game. The Football Association of Wales (FAW), was established in 1876 to oversee the Wales national team and govern the sport in Wales, later creating and running the Welsh football league system.
The Wales national women's football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales (FAW), the governing body for football in Wales and the third-oldest national football association in the world, founded in 1876.
The Wales national under-21 football team, also known as the Wales U21s, is the national under-21 football team of Wales and is controlled by the Football Association of Wales. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. To date Wales haven't yet qualified for the finals tournament but in recent years have shown good form, losing in a playoff (5–4) to England in the 2009 qualifying campaign and finishing second in their group two years later, after leading their group until their last game Wales only needed a draw to qualify for the play-offs but lost 1–0 away to Italy.
Futsal is a growing sport in England.
Adam James Matthews is a Welsh footballer who plays as a right back for Omonia and for the Wales national team. Matthews has also played for Cardiff City, Celtic, Sunderland and Charlton Athletic, having had loan spells with Bristol City.
Thomas Joseph Bender is a professional footballer who currently plays for Isthmian League Premier side Billericay Town. He represented Wales at under-15, under-16, under-17, under-19 and under-21 levels.
Cheryl Foster is a Welsh football referee and former player. She became the all-time record appearance holder for the Wales women's national football team in 2009, after making her senior international debut in 1997. At club level Foster spent nine years with Liverpool, playing in the first two seasons of the FA WSL in 2011 and 2012. She signed for Liverpool's FA WSL rivals Doncaster Rovers Belles in January 2013, before retiring later that season.
The Adran Premier, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Genero Adran Premier, is the highest level of league competition for women's football in Wales. It is organized by the Football Association of Wales. As of 2022, the league is ranked 41st overall by the UEFA Women's association club coefficients.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football. The team played their first match in March 1876 against Scotland before hosting their first home match the following year against the same opponent. The location selected for the fixture was the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, the world's oldest international football ground still in use. The ground hosted all of Wales's matches until 1890, when a game was played against Ireland in the English border town of Shrewsbury. Wales played matches in several parts of the country, including Bangor, Cardiff, and Swansea over the following two decades.
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international association football and is governed by the Football Association of Wales (FAW). Between 1980 and 1999 the side played 133 matches, the majority of which came against other European national teams. The British Home Championship, which had been held every year outside wartime since 1894, was disbanded in 1984. The decision to end the competition in its 100th year was blamed largely on low attendance figures, football hooliganism and England and Scotland's desire to play other opponents. Wales came within one match of winning the tournament in the 1980–81 season. They needed only to beat Northern Ireland, but the final game was never played after players refused to travel following an escalation of The Troubles in Ireland. Northern Ireland won the last tournament, held in the 1983–84 season, on goal difference as all four sides finished on equal points.
Women's football in Wales is overseen by the Football Association of Wales and is affiliated with both the world (FIFA) and European (UEFA) football governing bodies. As such the national team are eligible to compete in the World Cup and the European Championship. The winners of the top tier league is invited to join the qualifying stage of the Champions League.
On 10 September 1985, the Welsh and Scottish national teams played each other during the qualifying stages of the 1986 FIFA World Cup at Ninian Park, the home of Cardiff City. The game was both teams' final match of the qualifying tournament, and both were still able to gain a place at the finals in Mexico; Wales needed to win the game, while Scotland knew that a draw would be enough.
Nia Jones is an athlete who represents Wales internationally at both netball and football. She won the FAW Young Player of the Year Award in 2011. She was nominated for the SportingWales Magazine and UWIC Rising Star Award in 2013.
Thomas Mark Harris is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for EFL League One club Oxford United and the Wales national team. A versatile forward, he is able to play as a winger or as a striker.
Josie Green is a professional footballer who plays for Leicester City in the Women's Super League and the Wales national team.
The Wales national football team is the third-oldest side in international association football.
Chloe Williams is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English Women's Championship team Blackburn Rovers. Born in England, she has represented the Wales national team.
Andorra 2-1 Wales 
Poland 8-1 Wales 
