A number of players from Wales' women's team are set to receive a contract for the first time, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) announced on Wednesday.
The Union have agreed for 25 contracts to be offered, up to 10 will be professional and up to 15 will be retainer agreements for a select number of the international playing squad who have the most competitive potential for next year's Rugby World Cup.
The 12-month contracts will start from January 2022 and will include: "A set of performance criteria and standards players will be expected to meet."
There will also be match and training fees, additional staff appointments around performance and sport's psychology.
WRU Performance Director, Nigel Walker, said in a statement: "I'm delighted to be able to establish the first contracts for our female players. We are committed to making the women's programme one of the best in the world and this announcement is a first but major step in the right direction.
"The players have had a key role to play in this process to date and we feel this is the best way to make real gains on the world stage in the short and longer term.
"The players and coaches will now get on with the job in hand of preparing for three exciting autumn international matches before the first set of contracts are offered to the players who, the coaches feel, have the most potential to be as competitive as possible at next year's Rugby World Cup. I'm optimistic about what can be achieved in the next 12 months."
Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap said: "As players, we feel this is the best model for us at this stage. It's a structure that gives us an opportunity to prepare for the Rugby World Cup in a better place.
"It will allow some of our players to commit to being professional athletes and also take charge of certain tasks on behalf of the team, for example around analysis, and others to make decisions around their personal circumstances that will allow them to train and recover in a more manageable way so that we can make strides forward as a group."
Wales women kickoff their autumn international campaign facing Japan on Nov. 7, followed by South Africa on Nov. 13 and Canada on Nov. 21.