Ian Rush: Wales success helping inspire next generation

10 May 2016 10:23

Ian Rush believes Wales' place at Euro 2016 will help them discover the next Gareth Bale or Aaron Ramsey.

It is exactly a month before the European Championship gets underway in France, and the Football Association of Wales Trust has marked the occasion by revealing the results of a survey into the health of the game in the country.

The Trust - the charitable arm of the FAW that is responsible for the development of football in Wales - reports that the number of boys playing extracurricular football has increased by 15 per cent over the last five years.

Girls' participation has risen by seven per cent over the same period, and the Trust's disability programme since 2004 has seen players increase from 100 in three clubs to almost 900 across 26 clubs.

"The success of the national team is mirrored by the progress being made at the grass roots level," Rush, Wales' record goalscorer, told Press Association Sport.

"There's no coincidence we've qualified after the work done here.

"I've been elite performance director for seven years and it hasn't happened overnight.

"We've had some great players come through and now we've qualified we want to take it to the next level.

"We have better facilities now than when I was playing, and it's all about getting the right coaches in and more boys and girls playing the game."

Rush was part of the Wales Under-17 set-up when the likes of Wayne Hennessey and Joe Ledley came through the system.

The former Liverpool striker identifies the continuity which exists from age-grade teams into the senior set-up as crucial for a small country like Wales to succeed.

"You need that continuity from the Under-15s right through to the seniors," said Rush.

"It gives these young boys confidence that they know the same people as they come through.

"They are l ooking up and saying they want to be like Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, and that will help us produce more players like that.

"We have talent and fighting spirit and we want that to carry through.

"I'm looking to the World Cup now, not just the Euros.

"We've set the bar, but we want to go above it now and qualify for more tournaments."

Source: PA