WHY HAS ASHLEY WILLIAMS JOINED CRAIG BELLAMY’S WALES COACHING TEAM?
Former Wales captain Ashley Williams is back with the national team after being appointed to Craig Bellamy’s coaching staff ahead of Wales’s forthcoming UEFA Nations League campaign.
Williams has joined the senior set-up as an assistant coach alongside Alan Sheehan, with the pair added to Bellamy’s backroom team following the departure of James Rowberry because of work commitments.
The appointment represents a return to familiar surroundings for one of the most influential figures in recent Welsh football history.
Williams already holds a UEFA A Licence and has recently gained coaching experience at several Wales age-group camps, making the move into Bellamy’s senior coaching team a natural next step. The former Swansea City and Everton defender also brings something that cannot be taught on a coaching course – first-hand experience of captaining Wales during one of the greatest periods in the country’s football history.
WHAT EXPERIENCE DOES ASHLEY WILLIAMS HAVE IN INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL?
Plenty.
Williams won 86 caps for Wales after making his international debut against Luxembourg in March 2008.
Chris Coleman appointed him captain in 2012 and Williams subsequently led Wales through the qualifying campaign that ended the country’s 58-year wait to appear at a major tournament.
His defining international achievement came at UEFA Euro 2016, when he captained Wales on their remarkable run to the semi-finals in France.
Williams also provided one of the tournament’s unforgettable Welsh moments, heading the equaliser against Belgium in Lille as Wales came from behind to win their quarter-final 3-1.
For younger members of the present Wales squad, having somebody on the coaching staff who has actually experienced the pressures of qualifying for – and succeeding at – a major international tournament could prove particularly valuable.
WHO ELSE IS ON CRAIG BELLAMY’S WALES COACHING STAFF?
Williams arrives alongside former Swansea City head coach Alan Sheehan, who has also been appointed as an assistant coach.
Andrew Crofts remains part of Bellamy’s coaching team despite recently taking up a role as assistant head coach at Tottenham Hotspur.
The changes come as Wales prepare for a demanding Nations League campaign in League A against Portugal, Norway and Denmark.
Bellamy is due to announce his latest Wales squad on Tuesday, September 15, with home matches against Norway and Denmark at Cardiff City Stadium following in October.
Since retiring from playing in 2021, Williams has also become a familiar television football pundit, regularly appearing on the BBC’s Match of the Day and covering major international tournaments, while also working with Sky Sports and talkSPORT.
For Williams, it the new appointment represents another chapter in a Wales career which began as a player almost two decades ago and took in playing spells at Hednesford Town, Stockport County, Stoke City and Bristol City, as well as over 300 games for the Swans and a three-year spell in the Premier League with the Toffees.
This time, however, the former captain will be attempting to influence events from the touchline rather than from the heart of the defence.