Ashley Williams added to Bellamy’s Wales coaching team ahead of Nations League tests
On 21 September 2026, Ashley Williams joined Craig Bellamy’s Wales coaching staff as the side prepared for Nations League A matches against Portugal, Denmark and Norway. Bellamy has described Williams as Wales’ "greatest captain" of the modern era.
Williams made his Wales debut in 2008 and captained the side that reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal; he earned 86 caps and wore the armband for more than half of those appearances. Now 42 and a former Everton and Swansea City defender, Williams will not add to those caps and instead becomes part of a new-look backroom team the Football Association of Wales hopes will provide a missing ingredient in the bid to reach Euro 2028. Bellamy said Williams and fellow new coach Alan Sheehan would help provide "a different dynamic".
The appointments followed the departure of two key assistants and came after weeks in which Bellamy himself was linked with Burnley, making Williams’ arrival a surprise to some. Williams’ coaching résumé has been limited to informal roles and he is a familiar face on the Match of the Day studio panel. Sheehan, likewise, was not widely expected: the former Leeds, Leicester and Luton full-back has been out of work since November 2025 when he was sacked by Swansea City after a seven-month stint.
Williams and Sheehan replace James Rowberry, who has opted to focus on his role with Mark Robins at Stoke City, and Piet Cremers, who left to join Belgium's Club NXT in July. Cremers, whose analytical work Bellamy said meant "everything", spent time under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and worked with Bellamy and Vincent Kompany during their successful period at Burnley; Bellamy added he had been keen to take on more of the tasks Cremers performed.
Former Wales team-mates and colleagues point to Williams’ personality and leadership as his primary contribution to the staff. Sam Vokes said: "I played underneath Ash as a captain, and he was a great leader in the dressing room and led by example in the way he conducted himself on and off the pitch." Vokes added: "He can be someone who speaks from experience and [will] go into that dressing room and immediately command respect. "Portugal and Denmark away, he has played in those environments. "He will be able to speak to the lads that are going out in those environments because he led by example, and led in the trenches many times."
Bellamy reiterated his view of Williams’ standing and football knowledge, saying: "In my time he's been our greatest captain." He added: "Some ex-players with a certain presence can really add something, but also his knowledge of the game is really high, his football IQ is really high." The pair first played together for Wales under John Toshack.
The FAW and Bellamy have signalled a defensive emphasis in the new hires amid criticism of Wales’ openness and the failure to reach the World Cup. FAW chief football officer Dave Adams told the Feast of Football podcast: "He'll bring some unique skills, particularly when you play Nations League A games when you have to defend a lot," and said: "Some of the dark arts of defending, he'll bring some interesting things for the players to think about." Adams also highlighted set-piece work when describing Sheehan, a 40-year-old former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international, and said: "We really want someone who is in tune with restarts and set-pieces."
Adams underlined the immediate task for the new staff, saying: "In these sorts of games they could be the factor that give us a chance to win the game, because they are going to be very hard games to play in. We realise the importance of attacking and defending set-pieces in these next six games, and feel Alan and [goalkeeping coach] Martyn Margetson will bring that level of detail to help the team be best prepared for these games."
