Ben Davies joins FAW Council as players' representative at Dragon Park
Ben Davies, the Wales and Tottenham Hotspur defender, attended a Football Association of Wales (FAW) Council meeting at Dragon Park in Newport this week after being appointed to the FAW Council in August 2026 as a dedicated representative for Welsh players. The 33-year-old joined fellow executives to take part in discussions on the future of Welsh football.
Davies has spent more than a decade in Premier League and international football and serves as Wales captain. He has made 366 appearances for Spurs since joining in 2014, has been capped 104 times by Wales since debuting aged 19, and has won the Europa League and finished runner-up in the Champions League with Spurs. BBC Wales Sport was granted rare access to the FAW council's meeting where Davies participated.
Davies said his decision to take on administrative responsibilities stems from a desire to give back to the country that has given him so much, declaring: "Firstly, it's an absolute honour and privilege to play football for Wales," and adding, "If I can help using my stature and position as a player to help Welsh football, I'm more than happy to do that." He described the role as stewardship rather than a narrow agenda.
On what he brings to the council, Davies framed his contribution as a player's voice, saying: "[They] probably know a lot more than I do. I've only been a player. But ultimately, I'm here with a player's voice." He said having played at the highest level for a long time he wants "to be able to maintain those standards, bring us up to the levels that I've seen in the world of football, maintain us, and put us in a good place going forward."
The meeting mixed long-standing administrators with newer voices after recent FAW structural change, and included a notable contingent of women and people of previously underrepresented ethnic backgrounds. FAW president Mike Jones praised Davies for speaking up at the session, saying: "He spoke this morning - and there are quite a lot of people who don't speak in there," and adding, "But he actually spoke up this morning, which is a good indication of what's to come. As a professional player, if Ben tables some issue that we would never have found out if we didn't have him on the council, it can keep pushing us to best practice."
Davies holds a degree in Business Management and has represented Welsh cultural interests on wider public platforms, including a visit to Downing Street. Jones also noted Davies' involvement with Uefa — "Ben does some work for Uefa, as I do, and we were together last year at some of the congresses" — and recalled Davies being present when Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin visited Wales last November, concluding: "I understand his passion and why he wants to be here. It's early days, but I'm expecting big things from him."
Rather than arrive with a focused single issue, Davies said his remit is wide-ranging, aiming to ensure governance decisions translate into benefits across the domestic pyramid: "I want to see that Welsh football is giving the best opportunity to all players at every level - not just at the professional level like we are, but throughout the Welsh leagues and down to the grassroots as well," and added, "If I can impart any of my advice or where I've seen things that work or don't work throughout my time as a player, I can give my opinions, and hopefully that's acted upon, then all the better for Welsh football."
Davies has also earned his Uefa A Licence in coaching, and said he is keeping his options open for after his playing career: "Look, hopefully [retirement] is still quite a few years away," he said. "I feel fit. I love playing football, and I want to play as long as I can. But you're a long time retired in this game, and I don't see myself just doing nothing after football." He described the council role as "a great learning experience" and added, "I'd like to be someone who maybe, at some point, crosses that divide from a player to the boardroom or a front-office kind of role, because I haven't seen too many players over the years who have done that. I think it definitely adds a pretty good perspective when making decisions."
