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Craig Bellamy: Wales boss was right to speak to Burnley – David Adams

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Adams described the news that Cardiff’s Principality Stadium will host the women’s Champions League final in 2029 as a “game-changer” for the nation.

Cardiff City Stadium hosted the event in 2017 in the same year the men’s final was played at Principality Stadium – known as National Stadium of Wales for Uefa events due to sponsorship rules.

“It’s absolutely incredible, a game-changer for us,” he said.

“You’ve seen the growth in the women’s game. When I first came into the job, we were getting maybe 1,000 people at Rodney Parade for women’s games.

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“We got 15,000 at Cardiff City Stadium in this last campaign, so you can see the growth and how quickly the game is moving.”

Adams says young females seeing role models play at the home of Cardiff City and Principality Stadium is “just inspirational for those players”.

Wales’ women’s side qualified for a major tournament for the first time under Rhian Wilkinson as they reached Euro 2025 in Switzerland.

They are now aiming to secure a spot at a World Cup for the first time and continue their 2027 qualification bid with a double header against Albania in October.

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Further down the line, the 2035 women’s World Cup will be held in the United Kingdom, with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales all due to host matches for the global showpiece.

With Wales bidding to qualify and be competitive at the tournament in future, FAW chiefs remain determined to strengthen their player pool.

Despite the huge progress made in recent years, Adams feels the governing body still has plenty of work to do.

“Our goal is to create a pathway, which hasn’t been there for women’s football, where girls can actually play in a talent system which prepares them to play in tournament football on a consistent basis,” he said.

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“I don’t think we’re there yet, personally. I think what we’ve done in the last three years is fantastic, with the girls’ regional programme.

“But now we’ve got to try and make sure the girls graduate out of that system and play in the top leagues across Europe.

“That’s what gives you the best chance of qualifying consistently for major tournaments.”

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Jos Buttler surpasses former MI players to become first batter to reach historic milestone in T20s after ENG vs SL 2026 2nd T20I

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England opener Jos Buttler became the first batter to reach a historic milestone in the second T20I against Sri Lanka on September 17. The 36-year-old scored a brisk 30 off 16 deliveries and, in the process, reached 15,000 T20 runs.

Buttler overtook former West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard, who previously held the record for leading T20 run-scorer with 14,999. The former England captain achieved the feat in his 528th T20 game, averaging over 35 at a strike rate of 147.46.

Buttler overtook another Mumbai Indians (MI) legend, Rohit Sharma, in the series opener to become the second-leading T20I run-scorer. The veteran England opener has an incredible nine T20 centuries, including two in T20Is.

One of the most accomplished short-format batters, Buttler also led England to the title in the 2022 T20 World Cup.

The champion batter trails only Pakistan batter Babar Azam for T20I run-scoring. Babar is on 4,596 runs, 274 ahead of Buttler.

After a slow start to the 2026 season, where he went 14 innings without a T20I half-century, Jos Buttler has picked up steam. The seasoned batter has amassed 241 runs in his last three T20Is at an average of over 80 and a strike rate of 194.30.

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Jos Buttler’s explosive start helps England seal the T20I series against Sri Lanka

Jos Buttler produced an explosive knock to help England pull off another comfortable win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I. After the home side’s bowlers delivered the goods once again, England were left to chase a sub-par 146.

Buttler instantly crushed Lankan hopes with an array of boundaries, propelling England to 50 inside five overs. The hosts eventually completed the run-chase in 12.1 overs with six wickets in hand to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

It was England’s sixth consecutive T20I victory, following their 4-0 series win over India in July.

They will look to complete a clean sweep of the hapless Sri Lankan unit with a win in the series finale in Manchester on September 19.

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