From working in a prison to playing at Euro 2025

from a prison job to a Swiss game.

Few people will be competing at Euro 2025 in a way that rivals Rachel Rowe’s in Wales.

The women of Wales will make their biggest championship debut in Lucerne on Saturday, just outside of HMP Swansea, where Rowe once made a living.

Rowe’s ambitions were merged with a role in operational support within the confines of the 160-year-old Victorian prison on Swansea Bay during her early years of playing.

Rowe, who was still semi-pro when she won her 76 caps in 2015, recalls that she “had multiple jobs.”

I had to work after graduating from college. After leaving the prison service, I worked at B&amp and M.

Our group has members from a variety of generations who have gone through various experiences. Some people attend college and eventually become full-time football players.

“My journey was completely different, but it’s changed me into who I am today.

Rowe will play a significant role in Switzerland because he played a significant role for Wales during their development over the past ten years.

When she had the opportunity to pursue a semi-pro with Reading, Rowe was an apprentice in business administration with the Welsh government.

Rowe used to travel the 300-mile round trip from Swansea to Berkshire on the heels of a full day of work three times per week.

She had previously described how she would wake up in her kit and head to bed after midnight, and that she would eventually arrive home after midnight.

She claims, “I did it for a year and I was worn out.” “Fortunately, we won the league, which increased our WSL position.”

Even though the pay was nothing like what male top-flight players would have received, the offer of a professional contract changed someone’s life.

Rowe had considered giving up on her footballing dreams before the full-time deal was signed.

She adds, “It’s been ten years since [having fully professional], which is really strange.

Rowe spent eight years at Reading before moving to Southampton in 2024 after playing for Rangers.

Along the way, she has also experienced new experiences at Saints and sustained serious injury. She also won silverware in Glasgow.

Her influence on Wales has remained constant, though.

The opulent Rowe made a splash in a number of Wales shirts after being selected for Rhian Wilkinson’s European Championship squad.

She was made known for her role as a Welsh icon who has moved from fighting for recognition to being at the forefront of the nation’s sporting summer.

It makes sense then that the former prisoner now wants to confine his emotions.

She says, “When we arrived here and saw the bus with the entire Euros logo on it, it hit home.”

“It was a case of gulp it down because it really did feel real,” said one participant.

When Wilkinson’s players line up for the anthems before facing the Dutch, there will undoubtedly be a similar reaction on Saturday.

Rowe acknowledges that keeping your eyes dry might be challenging.

Because it’s such a precious moment for everyone to be a part of, she says, “I think every game is going to be like that.”

“But that doesn’t mean we won’t be composed,” she continued.

“Getting to this position hasn’t been easy,” he said. You and many others have put in a lot of effort over the past two or three decades to help us get this position, and we take them with us.

“We’re building toward Saturday, keeping this averted,” he said. If we come here, experience all the pressure, and don’t enjoy being here, we’d be unfair to ourselves.

Given that she has moved from Swansea prison to Swiss pinnacle, that may be especially true for someone who has been on a journey more unusual than most.