Angharad James: Squad unity keeps Wales players going during coronavirus
- Published
Angharad James (middle), pictured here with Sophie Ingle (L) and Natasha Harding, joined Reading from Everton in 2019
Midfielder Angharad James says the spirit in the Wales squad is helping Jayne Ludlow's players during the coronavirus crisis.
Wales have not played since 6 March having seen two Euro 2021 qualifiers scheduled for April postponed.
James, 25, was furloughed by club side Reading this week, but says her international colleagues are helping one another through difficult times.
"We are like a little family," she said.
"We have a WhatsApp group so we are in close contact most days, keeping up to date with everything.
"We are trying to stay together and as positive as possible.
"That's what keeps us going and that's probably where we have got all our success from - how close we are. It's a great environment to be in."
Wales are currently second in their Euro 2021 qualifying group behind Norway, who they had been due to face - along with the Faroe Islands - last month.
The tournament, which is to be held in England, has been postponed until July 2022 to avoid clashes with the men's European Championship and the Olympic Games, which were put back from this summer until 2021 because of coronavirus.
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales Sport, James said Ludlow's squad have collectively donated money to food banks across the country in a bid to do their bit.
She and partner Amy Turner, of Manchester United and England, also completed a 16-hour cycling challenge on Friday to raise money for charity.
James and Turner took turns doing 90-minute stints on a static bike until they had reached 383km.
That is the distance between James' home in Pembrokeshire and Sheffield, where Turner is from.
"I don't think I want to see another bike for a while, but it's all for great causes," James said.
"We struggle in the season to do something like this. We are always training and don't have much time off.
"We are sitting around doing nothing so we thought now is the best time. The charities need us the most right now."