Ashley Williams joins Wales coaching staff for Nations League campaign

Former Wales captain Ashley Williams has joined Craig Bellamy's national-team coaching staff as an assistant, taking his first senior coaching position. BBC Sport reported that Williams and former Swansea City manager Alan Sheehan were added to the backroom team on Monday following the departures of Piet Cramers and James Rowberry.

Watch the highlights:

Williams, 42, has worked mainly as a television pundit since retiring as a player in 2021. He holds a Uefa A Licence but has not previously held a senior coaching job. The former defender won 86 caps for Wales, with his final international appearance coming in June 2019, and captained the side during its run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals.

Former Wales striker Sam Vokes, who played in that 2016 team, told BBC Radio Wales that Williams' leadership experience should be valuable to Bellamy's squad. Vokes said his former team-mate led through his conduct on and off the field and would carry immediate credibility with the players, including younger members who watched him represent the country.

Vokes and Williams both completed coaching qualifications through the Football Association of Wales. Although Vokes said he had been surprised by the appointment because of Williams' success in broadcasting, he described the addition as a strong piece of recruitment by Bellamy. His assessment was based on Williams' record as a captain and his experience of demanding international fixtures.

Williams is due to have his first matchday involvement when Wales travel to Portugal on Thursday, September 24. That fixture begins an extended international period containing four Nations League matches. Wales are also scheduled to play Denmark twice and host Norway, giving the reshaped staff an immediate run of competitive games to manage.

Bellamy is scheduled to name his squad on Tuesday, September 15. Vokes said the longer camp could give the head coach more time than a conventional international window to work with players on his preferred methods, while also acknowledging the difficulty of the opposition. Williams' appointment is confirmed, but how Bellamy will divide responsibilities between his new assistants has not yet been detailed in the BBC report.