Craig Bellamy announces coaching staff
The former striker was appointed Cymru boss last month
Ahead of Cymru’s opening fixture of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League against Türkiye on Friday 6 September at the Cardiff City Stadium, Craig Bellamy has announced his coaching staff as he prepares to manage his country for the first time.
Speaking about the appointments, Bellamy said “I’m very happy with the group of staff that we’ve been able to bring in. I’ve worked with all of them previously, either as a coach or as a player. As a collective I believe the balance and various expertise between us is the best we could have asked for. The work off camp has been great so far and I can’t wait for us to meet up with the players and get things started with them.”
The FAW’s Chief Football Officer Dr. David Adams praised the appointments Bellamy has made. “As we look ahead to the start of the UEFA Nations League campaign, it’s great to have worked with Craig to identify a strong and experienced coaching staff who will compliment Craig’s skill set. Each staff member has been educated through the FAW’s Coach Education system which is a credit to what we have developed here in Wales. I look forward to welcoming the staff to our Cymru Men’s National Team”
Andrew Crofts – Assistant Coach
Crofts was capped 29 times for Cymru under John Toshack, Gary Speed and Chris Coleman and completed his UEFA coaching badges through the FAW Coach Education system. Crofts retired from playing in 2019, becoming a coach in Brighton & Hove Albion’s academy prior to stepping up as U23s Head Coach in 2021. In 2022, Crofts was appointed First Team Coach under Roberto De Zerbi with Brighton securing European football for the first time in the club’s history, reaching the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League last season, and has recently been appointed Assistant Head Coach at the club.
“I’m very proud. As soon as I knew there was an opportunity to be Craig’s assistant it grabbed me straight away. To represent Wales as a player was incredible for me and my family, and to now represent my country as an assistant coach is an indescribable feeling. I’m obsessed with coaching, studying various trends in the game and bringing a team’s methodology to life, something which I can’t wait to do with this group of players and staff.”
James Rowberry – Assistant Coach
Rowberry started coaching at the age of 21 and became one of the youngest people to complete his UEFA Pro Licence at the age of 29. Rowberry worked at Cardiff City for eight years, initially in the academy setup prior to becoming a First Team Coach under several managers including Neil Warnock. Following a period as Head Coach of his hometown Newport County, Rowberry was appointed as the FAW’s Head of Elite Coach Education in February 2023, combining the role with coaching in the Cymru age group setup.
“Being involved with our National Team is something I’ve always wanted to do and to represent my country. I’ve known Craig for a long time, and we share the same ideas on football. Being the link to the player pathway will be a key part of my role and my previous work in that area will allow me to be the natural link as we look to showcase our young talent on the world stage.”
Piet Cremers – Assistant Coach
Born in the Netherlands, Cremers began his coaching career at Excelsior Rotterdam before moving to England, where he worked with Brentford and Manchester City. As the Head of Performance Analysis & Insights at Manchester City, Cremers worked closely with Pep Guardiola for four years. His most recent role saw him working alongside Craig Bellamy as an Assistant Coach to Vincent Kompany at Burnley, where they secured promotion to the English Premier League after a record-breaking season.
“I’m very excited to be joining the Cymru setup and working with Craig again,” said Cremers. “Having come through the FAW Coach Education system and worked in club football with Manchester City and Burnley in recent years, this is a great opportunity to return to Wales, work with this exciting group of players and staff and bring my experience into international football.”
Ryland Morgans – Assistant Coach
Morgans’ career has seen him work with several English Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Everton, Swansea City and Fulham gaining experience in over 700 games. At international level, Morgans has amassed over 100 matches where he previously worked with the FAW for eight years as Head of Performance for the Cymru team that reached the semi-finals of the UEFA EURO 2016 tournament. Since 2018, Morgans has worked with the Ivory Coast National team as assistant manager and the China FA and CSKA Moscow as first team coach. Morgans is also a Professor in football science and published over 115 academic papers.
“It’s great to be working with the FAW again. The UEFA EURO 2016 journey was a career highlight and working with some of those players, as well as the new faces, is a challenge I’m really excited for. It’s been a busy few weeks working with Craig as we prepare for our first camp, and we can’t wait to get things going on the grass.”
Further announcements to the coaching staff will be made in due course.
Following the appointments, several staff members from the Cymru Men’s National team setup will be moving on.
The FAW would like to place on record its thanks to Alan Knill, Jack Lester, Tony Roberts and Nick Davies for their work and dedication with the Cymru Men’s National Team.
Chris Gunter will also be moving on to a new role in the FAW setup, which will be announced in due course.