To support our objective to promote Wales and engage in diplomacy, the First Minister, the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, and Chief Whip and I will attend a range of events, as well as each of Wales's group games against the USA, Iran and England. And I'm hoping to add more, depending on progress in the tournament. The core aim of these visits will be to support initiatives that will help to grow the economy, raise the profile of Wales and promote us as a globally responsible nation. Our Welsh Government offices in Dubai and Qatar have provided a wide-ranging and full programme of engagements for Ministers that will look to maximise our support for these initiatives.

We will also use the Welsh Government's wider network of overseas offices to maximise the opportunity to promote Wales and engage with key international stakeholders, particularly in Qatar, Dubai, the US and Europe. This includes working with our Welsh Government envoys, especially in the US and Dubai, and our wider diaspora. We're working closely with the UK Government and, indeed, the embassy in Qatar, on opportunities to promote Wales. We will have our own distinctly Welsh presence in Doha and Welsh content in the UK GREAT garden pavilion, GREAT festival and UK Day. We will have a Welsh themed VIP reception on 21 November, aligned with the USA match, which is to be hosted by the British ambassador to Qatar, with our First Minister as the chief guest.

We are acutely aware of the significant challenges in hosting an event of this nature in Qatar, with the fine balance we need to strike between maximising opportunities and promoting our core values as a nation. Hosting the world cup in Qatar has shone a light on that country's human rights and workers' rights records. We know that some of our LGBTQ+ fans will not travel to the country, due to its stance on LGBTQ+ rights, for example. We will use our platform as an opportunity to express our values and to demonstrate that Wales is a nation of values on the world stage. We will do this through our enhanced marketing campaign and international engagement, including through our promotion of the diverse stories of modern today's Wales and, indeed, of Wales as a nation of sanctuary. The Welsh Government recognises that the diversity of our global relationship means that not all the countries with which we have a relationship will share the same values. We take a balanced approach to our international engagement, promoting Wales's values and engaging constructively with partners and stakeholders across these issues. To ensure the safety and security of Welsh citizens in Qatar, and a welcome for all, we are continually engaging with the UK Government through regular meetings and a range of Government agencies. Regular channels of contact have been established for updates on matters of security and safety from the Qatari supreme committee, which is the committee responsible for managing and organising the event.

As a Government, and with our wider partners, we need to ensure that we build a legacy from the world cup that inspires the next generation of boys and girls. Even more importantly, we want to advance physical activity and sporting participation to support the health and well-being of our nation. To help secure a positive and lasting legacy, our programme for government already makes a commitment to invest in sporting facilities, with a capital budget of £24 million over the next three years to support investment in facilities across all sports. We also invest in facilities through the schools capital programme and, indeed, directly through local authorities. But, beyond that, there is an opportunity for all of us, as individuals, businesses, organisations and, indeed, as community leaders in this room and beyond, to embrace the legacy of our participation in this world cup.

In celebrating the men's achievement, we also have much to be proud of with the progress of the women's team. With the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on the horizon, should our women's team qualify through the play-offs, as we all hope they will, we should look to reflect activity and learn to support the team in their own world cup journey. And we, of course, all wish the team well in their upcoming play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 6 October.

Dirprwy Lywydd, as you can see, we have established an ambitious and exciting range of activities to make the most of this unique opportunity. My intention is to provide a further statement and update in November ahead of the world cup opening ceremony on 20 November. In the meantime, I wish the FAW and its partners all the very best in their preparations.