Welsh sporting stars rewarded

Welsh sporting stars rewarded

Twenty-three champions attending the 2025 GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) Awards at the Glamorgan Cricket Ground this week hold a Welsh, British or world record.

They were among the 98 athletes, representing 24 different sports, who will receive GSF support worth £73k in Wales this year. 78 per cent of them get no other sports funding, 69 per cent are aged under 21 and 30 per cent are under 16.

A highlight of the awards evening was the presentation of the Rhodri Morgan Award. Set up in memory of the late First Minister of Wales to recognise outstanding achievement in Welsh Sport and presented by his widow Julie Morgan MS (Member of the Senedd), athlete Luca Phillips was announced as the 2025 winner.

At only 16, Luca’s long list of titles includes being the current U17 British champion in long jump, hurdles and triple jump; the U18 British schools champion in pentathlon and long jump; the long jump Welsh seniors champion; the U17, U18 and U20 Welsh record holder in long jump; the third best U17 British indoors long jumper in history and the first ever male athlete to win three golds at the British Age Championships.

"I was absolutely delighted to attend the GLL Sports Foundation Awards,” said Julie Morgan. “It was incredibly inspiring to see so many people, especially young people, so committed and invested in their sports. These awards are the perfect opportunity for talent and hard work to be recognised, and I was delighted to be able to present the Rhodri Morgan award. I know that he, too, would have been very proud of our Welsh sporting talent recognised this year."

Siblings Aliyah Afolabi, 15, and Abdullah Afolabi, 18, were among those receiving individual awards.

“It was a beautiful and memorable evening – filled with celebration, recognition and a true sense of community,” said their mother Ayo Yankie. “My children and I feel honoured to have been part of such a wonderful evening.”

Among those attending the event as guests were GLL’s Regional Director Tony Wallace, Welsh Athletics CEO James Williams, CEO of Table Tennis Wales Owen Rodgers, the Assistant Director of Cardiff Met Laura Williams and CEO of the Welsh Sports Association Andrew Howard. There were also representatives from Sports Wales, SportsAid Cymru, Swim Wales, Welsh Hockey and Cardiff City Council.

"On behalf of Welsh Athletics, I wanted to thank GLL for their ongoing support of athletes in Cardiff,” said James Williams. “The 18 athletes supported this year span a range of ages, events and stages on the pathway – from aspiring juniors like Nell Desir to Masters

athletes and Olympians like Clara Evans. This support is invaluable in helping them and their families achieve their ambitions."

“It was impossible not to be inspired by the incredible young athletes recognised,” said Andrew Howard. “The depth of talent in Cardiff is extraordinary, and events like this give us every reason to be optimistic about the future. We are hugely grateful to the GLL Foundation for their investment - not only in these athletes but in the wider promotion of physical activity and wellbeing across the region. The evening not only celebrated individual achievements but also reinforced the importance of community investment in sport, providing young athletes with the opportunity and platform to reach their full potential."

Jayne Morgans of SportsAidCymru said: "Every one of the athletes I speak to amaze me with their stories of how every pound they receive helps them to improve and progress in their relevant sport. The gym and pool access helps them strengthen their bodies and even if injured still allows them to keep fit. The organisation of the presentation evening was excellent and it’s fantastic to see the achievements of everyone. When all the Welsh, British Champions stood up it was quite emotional."

Operating under the Better brand, GLL is the not-for-profit social enterprise that runs GSF. Now in its 17th year, the sport foundation has so far contributed over £17m worth of athlete funding and support and distributed over 30,000 awards to young and talented athletes in 70 areas of the UK where GLL operate and across 117 different sports.

Cardiff Council Cabinet Member for Culture, Parks and Events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, said: “The GLL Sport Foundation supports so many local athletes of all ages, helping them excel across a really wide range of sports. It’s fantastic to see so many of them being recognised for their achievements. Cardiff has a long track-record of developing athletes who perform at the highest level and hopefully we’ll see some of this year’s award winners going onto achieve even greater accolades.”