Former Liverpool and Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy has succeeded Rob Page as the new Wales boss.

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• Page was shown the door last month
• FAW zeroed in on Bellamy
• Had been working as an interim coach at Burnley

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bellamy has officially taken charge of the Dragons after Page was dismissed from the role last month following Wales' failure to qualify for Euro 2024. Bellamy had been serving as the acting head coach at Burnley, stepping in after Vincent Kompany left to join Bayern Munich. Despite new Burnley manager Scott Parker’s desire to retain Bellamy as part of his backroom staff, the lure of managing the Welsh national team led Bellamy to appear for an interview before the FAW, and he has now been handed a contract through to 2028.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Bellamy has never hidden his ambition to manage his country and came close to getting the top job in 2018 – but ultimately lost out to Ryan Giggs. He made a strong impression in a recent meeting with senior FAW officials to emerge as the first-choice among high-profile candidates like Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, Georgia coach Willy Sagnol, and Oxford United boss Des Buckingham.

• WHAT BELLAMY SAID

  Bellamy said at his unveiling on Tuesday morning: “It’s an incredible honour for me to be given the opportunity to lead my country and it’s the proudest moment of my career. It was always my ultimate dream to become the Cymru Head Coach and I am ready for the challenge. I will give my full commitment to develop this team and I am passionate to bring continued success into Welsh football. I can’t wait to get started with our Nations League games in September.”

  The FAW’s chief football officer, Dr. David Adams, added: “I am absolutely delighted to announce Craig as our new Head Coach. We undertook a thorough recruitment process for the new Men’s National Team Head Coach and Craig was identified as the standout candidate. We are all looking forward to the Nations League games and working with Craig to deliver success for Welsh Football.”

• DID YOU KNOW?

  During his playing career, Bellamy earned 78 caps for Wales, scoring 19 goals before retiring from international football in 2013. Transitioning into coaching, Bellamy began with Cardiff City's academy before joining Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht as an assistant manager and then followed the Belgian to Turf Moor.

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