CEREDIGION footballer Casi Gregson has had a fantastic season at regional and international level.

A year 10 pupil at Ysgol Bro Pedr, who represents Ceredigion Schools, she has travelled to Florida, Israel, Portugal and the Netherlands with the Wales Under-17s team - despite being only 15 years old.

Her interest in football began at Ysgol Gynradd Carreg Hirfaen, and thanks to her mother Maxine's influence, a mixed team was established in Lampeter to compete in the Ceredigion Under 12s League.

As a result of her eye-catching performances, Casi - whose father Lyndon is a former Swansea City professional - was given the opportunity to attend West Wales trials where she came to the attention of the national selectors.

The women's game in Wales has developed at a rapid rate in recent years following the success of the national women’s team under the leadership of Gemma Grainger.

As part of the vision for developing the girls' game an FAW Trust South Wales Girls Academy was established in Pontypridd for the most talented players. 

Casi and her parents made the trip from Ceredigion three times a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays for practice and on Sundays for academy games, where the team competes against academies of boys two years younger.

The coaches include Izzy Taylor, former Cardiff Met Women's coach and Loran Dykes MBE, the former Welsh international.

Taylor said of Casi: "She has a good first touch, a presence and determination on the pitch, she is exceptionally quick and has an eye for goal".

Casi, who is also a superb athlete and Welsh champion in the 60m and 200m, was selected to play for Wales for the first time in the Bob Docherty Tournament in Newcastle in April.

With games against the England A and B squads, as well as Scotland, Casi scored her first international goal in a memorable victory against England A.

During the summer Casi travelled to Florida with the Wales Under 15s to take part in the CONCACAF Cup, with games against Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Haiti.

She was also selected by coach Nia Davies for Wales Under 17s in the European qualifiers in Israel in October 2022, with Wales beating Montenegro 4-0 and Israel 4-0.

In March the squad travelled to Portugal for warm-up matches. Casi scored the winning goal as Wales beat the Czech Republic 2-1 - and was she was also on the scoresheet in a 3-2 win over Serbia, before losing 3-0 against Portugal.

A trip to the Netherlands followed in late March for the second round of European Qualifiers, with Wales facing some of the giants of the women's game in Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. 

As she looks to establish herself in the Wales Under 17 team, she will also be hoping to attract the attention of professional WSL clubs in England and a full-time contract in the sport.

"On behalf of everyone associated with the Ceredigion Schools Football Association we would like to congratulate Casi on her numerous successes this year," said a spokesperson,

"We wish her the best of luck for the future. In Casi we have an excellent role model for both boys and girls whose aim is to reach the top in their sport."