Calling Wales’ Creative Kids!
To celebrate Cymru reaching the UEFA Women’s EURO play-offs for the first time, Literature Wales and FAW are asking the children of Wales to write short poems to support the team ahead of their first ever play-off semi-final match on Friday 25 October against Slovakia.
The brief!
We want the poems to inspire the players, and show them how inspiring they are! We also want the poems to celebrate the power of women and girls in football. Let’s show Cymru that we’re rooting for them.
The theme is ‘For Her’, and your poem should be 12 lines or fewer. They can be written in Welsh or English, or any other languages you speak!
Please send your poem to pel-droed@llenyddiaethcymru.org by Thursday 17 October, with your first name, age and either the name of the village/town/city where you live or the school you go to.
Be inspired
Learn more about the Cymru National Team and other artists who’ve been inspired by them:
Cymru have reached the UEFA Women’s EURO play-offs for the first time and stand on the brink of making history. Cymru aim to continue the momentum from a positive qualifying campaign which saw Cymru finish top of their qualifying group and secure promotion back to the top tier of the UEFA Women’s Nations League.
The journey so far:
- Cymru finished top of their qualifying group and went unbeaten throughout with four wins (two against Croatia & two against Kosovo) and two draws (both against Ukraine) from six games.
- Jess Fishlock enjoyed a record-breaking qualifying campaign by earning her 150th Cymru cap and breaking the Cymru goalscoring record with her 44th
- Matches throughout the campaign took place in Wrexham and Llanelli and the play-off will be played in Cardiff.
- Finishing top of the group means Cymru will return to League A in the UEFA Women’s Nations League and face Europe’s elite.
- This was Cymru’s first qualifying campaign since Cymru missed out on a place at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the play-off final against Switzerland.
The Cymru Women’s National Team’s higher purpose is to play for change. To play to inspire. “For Us. For Them. For Her.” This tagline is designed to acknowledge the past, showcase the present and inspire the future.
FAW and Literature Wales’ 2021 poetry competition winner Martha Appleby, age 11, has created an inspiring poem about her football experience and her hopes for the future of football. You can watch this here.
Juice Menace is a Welsh rap artist from Grangetown and Cymru supporter. The FAW previously collaborated with Juice to release an exclusive track, ‘FOR HER’ in the lead up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World cup play-offs. You can watch this here.
The Match!
Cymru fans and the Red Wall play a key part in Cymru’s games and it is hoped fans will be out in their numbers for the play-off semi-final!
Schools, clubs and any groups of 10+ people are encouraged to take part in the group booking scheme. Group booking tickets are priced at £8 for adults and £3 for juniors. The group booking forms will need to be submitted via post or email to tickets@faw.cymru by 12pm Friday 18 October.
Group booking forms: PDF | DOC
Pob lwc Cymru!
The small print:
- We welcome poems by children up to 16 years.
- Poems will be displayed with the following information: First Name, Age, Location i.e. Tomos, 9, Aberystwyth / Plascrug Community School.
- You would be welcome to submit poems written as a group too. Please note the class/school year and the school e.g. A Poem by Year 4, Mount Stuart Primary School.
- Literature Wales and FAW may wish to publish some of the poems submitted digitally on their websites and/or social media. You will be informed via email if we would like to publish your submitted poem.
- We cannot guarantee that any poems that don’t reach us by Thursday 17 October will be shared with the FAW.