Gareth Bale hopes win over Bosnia can boost football in Wales
Gareth Bale hopes victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday night can be the first step towards helping football emerge as the most popular sport in Wales.
In stark contrast to their fortunes in rugby, where they have won three Six Nations Grand Slams in the last 10 years, Wales have not qualified for a major international tournament since the 1958 World Cup.
Bale, who was named Welsh footballer of the year for a fourth time at a Cardiff ceremony on Monday night, believes qualifying for a major championship can change the sporting landscape in Wales.
"We have massive potential and I want to make history with Wales and qualify for a major tournament," the Real Madrid winger said.
"I feel football can overtake rugby soon. I remember when I was younger the Millennium Stadium was full every time I went to watch.
"Rugby has obviously overtaken it in recent years but I feel football is on the incline and we can get a lot of fans to the games and get the support behind us.
"It's not only important for us as a team to get to a major championship, but as a nation as a whole.
"We want to inspire more kids to play football and become a better national team."
Bale and his national team-mates are stepping up their preparations for this week's home European qualifiers against Bosnia and Cyprus.
Bosnia were surprisingly defeated by Cyprus in their opening game and Bale believes Wales, who have climbed to 29th in the FIFA World Rankings, have what it takes to beat the Bosnians on Friday.
"We know they're a very good side, they showed that by getting to the World Cup and they've obviously got some good players," Bale said.
"But we believe in ourselves and hopefully we can get the victory on Friday. We've got two massive games but we just want to concentrate on Friday and not think about anything else.
"The fans can be the extra man. We haven't had too many big crowds in the past but I really feel we're on the rise now.
"As a team we're playing better and getting the right results and that shows in the rankings.
"We all firmly believe we're pushing in the right direction, and hopefully the fans will come out and support us and we can give them a good performance.