Flintshire girls’ football stars feature in Coronation Street event ahead of historic Wales match
Two Flintshire football clubs will take centre stage on the famous Coronation Street cobbles on Saturday, July 12, as the FA hosts Big Football Day, powered by The National Lottery.
Buckley Town FC and Northop Hall Girls FC from Flintshire will join fellow North Wales club CPD Merched Porthmadog to highlight grassroots football’s role in building Wales’s historic women’s team.
Wales faces defending champions England in Switzerland on July 13.
The event is the finale of the FAW’s “Chwarae FOR HER” celebration week, which has involved more than 50 clubs and local authorities delivering football activities across Wales to encourage female participation.
Emma Iball from Buckley Town FC has been instrumental in transforming girls’ football in North East Wales.
After being told she could not train with boys in 1983, she founded the North East Wales Girls’ Football League, providing monthly sessions for 250 primary school girls.
“Now there’s not going to be another girl disappointed like I was,” says Emma, whose dedication earned her the FAW Volunteer of the Year award in 2020.
Northop Hall Girls FC, established in 2008, is Wales’s third-largest female football club, with over 200 players.
The club has benefited from National Lottery funding exceeding £20,000 and produced notable players such as Liverpool’s Mia Parry and Wales international Elise Hughes.
CPD Merched Porthmadog, although representing a different North Wales region, also takes part in the event.
The club grew from informal sessions starting in 2016 and now fields 100 players, including Chelsea and Wales Under-19 player Cadi Rodgers.
National Lottery funding has played a key role in the growth of women’s football in Wales, with £332,972 allocated in 2024/25 alone.
This has supported programmes such as Huddle for girls aged 4-11 and BE.FC for teenagers.
The Coronation Street event will feature six interactive zones and appearances by former Wales international Katie Sherwood, former England star Jill Scott, and Coronation Street actors Jenny McAlpine and Alan Halsall.
Forty-eight young players from National Lottery-supported clubs across England and Wales will take part in skills sessions and meet-and-greet opportunities.
The FAW said the event “encourages unity and inspires girls across Wales by showing them they are welcome in the game,” reflecting a spirit of “unity before rivalry” ahead of Wales’s match against England.
National Lottery investment also supports major facilities such as the National Football Centre in Cardiff and the Elite Centre in Wrexham.
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