Byline: ESTHER ECKLEY
FOUR talented teenage Welsh footballers have been given the opportunity to reach the top after being hand-picked to join one of the country's top academies, run by Premiership club Arsenal.
The four, who include two from Rhyl, are among just 25 youngsters who have been selected for the two-year course which got under way last week.
And the selection of 16-year-old Elerie Earnshaw and Kelly Davies, 17, is encouraging news for the future of women's football in Wales.
The two girls attended different schools and first met when they started playing at Bangor City's School of Excellence at the age of 13.
Both have gone on to become regulars in the Bangor City side, who are members of the national Northern division and current holders of the FAW Women's Challenge Cup.
Earnshaw, a striker, lives in Rhyl and started playing at the age of seven for local boys club, 'The Glans' where her talent was quickly recognised by coach, Paul Parry.
'The whole family is delighted and pleased at what Eleri's achieved, ' says her proud father, David, who is deputy head teacher at Ysgol y Berwyn in Bala.
'She did all the hard work of finding the information and applying for a place at the Academy. She is a gifted sportswoman and has always been enthusiastic and passionate about football and sports in general. The good thing about the Academy is that she'll be able to combine academic studies with her training every day.'
The former Ysgol Glan Clwyd pupil, winner of the school sports day's Victrix Ludorum for the past five years, has won two full Welsh caps to date after also representing her country at under14 and U16 level.
Her ambition is to follow in the footsteps of her idol, American soccer star, Mia Hamm. 'My long-term aim is to go to America and try to get a scholarship to study at either North Carolina or California college, ' she said. 'I want to play professionally, and the sport is looking to go that way in this country within the next couple of years.'
Davies, a midfield player, lives in Towyn and started playing football with her elder brothers, David and Neil, when she was only six years old.
A pupil at Emrys ap Iwan School, Abergele, she passed her GCSEs last year with flying colours and has mixed feelings about a two-year stint in London.
'I'll miss home, the Bangor players and especially going to watch Liverpool play, ' she said. 'We've got a family season ticket and it's a great feeling being at Anfield watching your heroes play right in front of you.'
Davies, who recently gained her first Welsh senior cap, added: 'I was delighted when I heard the news that I was accepted because I applied for a place last year but was on holiday in America at the same time as the trials.'
Davies' father, Colin, coaches the Bangor Ladies, helping goalkeeper Nikki Davies to become a Wales junior international. Her mother Anne, a parttime hairdresser and carer, said: 'When we went with Kelly to the trials, I was so amazed at the level of play and the breadth of talent.
'I'm very happy for her as it's a golden opportunity she shouldn't miss, but then again as a mother, I will miss her immensely.'
Academy assistant coach, Sian Williams, the Welsh international manager and captain of the senior Arsenal ladies team, said:
'They're both very skilled and talented individuals who will definitely go far.
They're both promising young players who deserve to go to the Academy and will improve daily in an environment where they play football on a daily basis.
'It's not going to be easy though because they'll have to study 15 hours a week, train for up to three hours a day and study most evenings.
'Women's football in the UK aims to turn professional by 2003, the year Kelly and Eleri finish their course. This will be a milestone for women's football and can only be a positive step forward in raising the profile of women's sport in general, ' added Williams.
There are 22 girls football clubs in Wales at pesent, a number that is expected to double over the next 12 months.
With their Welsh colleagues, Jo Price, 16, from St. David's and Milly Durrant, also 16, from Aberystwyth the Bangor City girls will be studying a BTEC Sports Science course during their time at Arsenal.
They will study at Oaklands College in Hertfordshire in the morning and play at the Arsenal men's training ground in London Colney in the afternoons.
Davies and Earnshaw were both members of the Bangor under-17 side which beat nine other teams in this summer's Ian Rush tournament at Aberystwyth, Eleri scoring a tournament record 12 goals in six games.
CAPTION(S):
ACADEMY WINNERS: Elerie Earnshaw, 16, and Kelly Davies, 17, who have joined up with Arsenal for a two-year course
