Our journey may have ended at the semi finals but it’s only just begun for Welsh football. To say that we lost to Christiano Ronaldo’s Portgual in the semi finals of the European Championships is absolutely unbelievable and yes, we may not be in the final but our team’s performance over the last month fills me with great pride. Chris Coleman’s squad have managed to unite a proud sporting nation and sewn the seed for future generations of Bales, Ramseys and Allens.
The unbridled joy in victory, the emotion and the camaraderie of our fans, both here in Wales and in France, has been overwhelming. Many will be able to say ‘I was there’ or ‘I remember where I was when…’ We’ve seen a nation captivated, thrilled and emotionally connected with a squad of players that have shown passion, belief and ability. In the early hours of Thursday morning as I started my journey home I started to think about what this meant, not only for sport but for Wales as a whole.
Think of the players’ children innocently playing on the pitches after the games, unaware of the significance of the event. They are part of the next generation who will dare to dream. And dream big. I will leave further analysis to Jonathan Ford of the FAW and Neil Ward of the FAW Trust, but there is a momentum now that has to be transferred from the top of the game into the grassroots. The game in Wales is in a healthy state, now we can use the last month as a further inspiration to get more people playing.
But it’s about more than just football, it’s about the nation and how we’re now perceived. To see major multi-national companies such as Budweiser and Addidas not only recognising the value in targeting a Welsh market, but doing so through the medium of Welsh demonstrates the impact of reaching the finals and then not taking that as job done. These adverts will have reached a global audience through social media and we now have to be using that to raise awareness of Wales as a destination and a place to do business.
We have a proud heritage of providing iconic stars to the world; Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins, Ioan Gruffydd, Dylan Thomas, David Hasselhoff (ok, maybe not the last one!). This Welsh team now take their place alongside Tanni Grey Thompson, Gareth Edwards, Colin Jackson, Nicole Cook, John Charles and many others as the sport inspirations for athletes across the globe. Let’s not allow the interest in Wales to fade in the coming months, but keep driving the message that we are a successful, proud and innovative nation. A nation that isn’t only successful in one sport or one aspect of culture or industry. A multi-task nation that has a success story at every turn and isn’t afraid to promote it, confident that we have the investment and human resource in place to continue to produce talent.
Harnessing sport to the wider outcomes we want to achieve shouldn’t only be every time we qualify for a major tournament or when the Olympics, Paralympics or Commonwealth Games roll round. People becoming healthier through sport is happening in all our communities on a daily and weekly basis. We can invest our time in that. We can invest our skills in that. We can invest our future in that.
So many people have felt the spring in the step that a success on the world stage can bring. They have been swept along in the passion and joy of others. Let’s make sure that ‘spring’ isn’t just a metaphor, but becomes a physical spring to a more active nation, whatever sport or activity people want to participate in. What the last month has demonstrated is that one of the key ingredients to success is personal responsibility. Each member of that team took responsibility, when games turned against them or they were under pressure in the final minutes, they didn’t hide or go missing. Becoming more active is difficult, taking the first step is daunting, but if we do it together and focus on the benefits that we will reap it can become easier. Ask anyone who’s started jogging or jumped on the bike for the first time in years and they’ll tell you that there are days when it seems too hard, but gradually this fades. It takes a personal responsibility to achieve this, allied with opportunities that meet the individual’s needs and welcomes them to a world rich with possibilities.
Finally I’d like to think that the inspirational words and leadership spoken and demonstrated by Chris and the team don’t become the property of academics and leadership courses. There’s no doubt that Chris caught the mood of the nation when he talked about not being afraid to dream and fail along the way. When Gareth Bale talked about playing for the pride in the badge, it connected with every sports fan in the country. It would be easy now for these to be used as examples of leadership, something to be pointed to and taught. We can do more than that, we can replicate that approach. I’m realistic and don’t believe that sport alone can solve all the problems we may face, but we can work together more effectively to deliver collectively for communities.
The inspiration of the last month was delivered by an elite national sports team, but it isn’t owned solely by the sport sector. Harness the feelings and emotions we’ve experienced over the last month whatever your role is. Dare to dream, learn from failure and take inspiration from the wild dream that became a beautiful reality on the pitches of France.
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