We caught up with City Women head coach Iain Darbyshire as preparations reach their final stages for the UEFA Women's Champions League campaign.
The Bluebirds will go head-to-head with Republic of Ireland's Athlone Town in the first qualifying round, with the fixture taking place on July 30th.
City have prepared with a series of challenging pre-season fixtures, as well as an intense training programme.
“The summer has been busy," Iain began. "With the Champions League starting in July, it’s a month earlier than we’re used to, so we’ve come into pre-season nice and early. We’ve had a good six weeks and have prepared very well.
“It’s knockout football, which we’re relishing. You work hard all season to win the league and the added reward for that is Champions League football.
"That also brings a level of pressure because we are flying the flag for Wales in Europe, but it’s a pressure that we’ll embrace. We know that we’ll need to be at our best and deliver."
Athlone Town compete in the League of Ireland Women’s Premier Division, which runs from March to October, meaning they are in the middle of their 2025 campaign.
Cup glory in 2023 buoyed them ahead of the 2024 season. 15 wins from 20 matches, with 47 points from a possible 60, led them to winning the title for the first time in their history.
They finished two points above Shelbourne to qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League first qualifying round.
Iain continued: “They’re going to be a good side. They’re mid-season, so it will be a test for us to be up to speed and make sure we’re as free-flowing as we want to be. We’re excited for the challenge.
"With it being a game against a nation close to us geographically, our players will be able to bring their friends and family, along with our brilliant fans, and we’ll have more of a homely feel to the game, which will help us.
“Athlone Town are the champions of the Republic of Ireland for a reason and they’ll be well prepared. They’re a good side from the games that we’ve looked at, but we feel that we’re ready to compete.
"Keeping the squad together was the first step in that, then we’ve built on it by getting our training right and preparing well."
Ahead of last season's European campaign, the Bluebirds formed a new squad following the departure of some key players.
This summer, City have added two new additions to the squad, with midfielder Helen Evans arriving from The New Saints, as well as attacker Maddison Perrott, who has previously represented Bristol City and Gwalia United.
“We had so many new faces last year that it provided a difficult challenge for us with the turnover of players," Iain added. "But this season, as well as managing to keep most of the squad together, we have added talented players in positions that we felt we needed to strengthen and that puts us in a good place.
"It just means the relationship and understanding between the players, as well as the staff, has already been built, which provides a platform to be able to perform.
“There were a couple of positions that we wanted to address. We needed to add a really physical midfielder to our squad and done that nice and early with Helen coming in.
"Maddison gives us added pace in wide areas, which was an area we also wanted to improve. They’ve both come in and have built good relationships with the squad; they’ll be ready to perform for us throughout the season."
Last season's Champions League campaign saw the Bluebirds gain invaluable experience against FC Twente and ŽFK Ljuboten, providing a further understanding of the level required to compete in Europe.
Iain concluded: “The first couple of years in the Champions League were steep learning curves for us and we feel that right now, we're in a healthy place.
"The group have been together for well over a year and we’re feeling positive heading into the game in Ireland.
“The next step for us is to win a game in the Champions League. We’re not going there to make up the numbers, we need to do this as a group and overcome the hurdle that we haven’t been able to achieve in previous years."