Yasmin Williams celebrates a special day

Midfielder Yasmin Williams has been a vital figure in CPD Merched Bethel’s rise to prominence in recent years.

Today the young talent celebrates her 19th birthday, having been born on June 22, 2002.

After developing her football skills through the junior sides at Bangor, Yasmin joined Bethel Under-16s where she won the North Wales Girls League Cup in May 2018, beating RCF Wrexham 2-0 in the final.

She moved up to the seniors in 2018-19 and was a key player in the squad which finished joint North Wales Women’s League Division One champions.

In February 2020, things changed drastically in Yasmin’s life when she became the first woman to pass out for the Welsh Guards.

She joined on July 14, 2019 and passed out seven months later.

After leaving Ysgol Tryfan, Yasmin signed up to the Military Preparation College for Training (MPCT) in Bangor and spent a year there.

It was while at MPCT she decided to apply for the Welsh Guards.

She was initially rejected and told the infantry were not taking on any women at the time.

A few months passed and on discovering they were now accepting females, she applied, got a selection date and passed out of the Infantry Training Centre with the Guards in early 2020.

Yasmin has remained on Bethel’s books and plays when her military commitments allow.

As well as playing for Bangor and Bethel, Yasmin has also represented the intelligence corp football team, something she is extremely proud of.

She sees her strengths as passing, controlling the game and through balls.

Yasmin can also strike a mean free-kick, one 30-yard effort for Bethel standing out in her mind.

Happy birthday Yasmin, Grassroots North Wales is proud of everything you have achieved in your football and military career so far and we wish you well for the future.