Bellamy Affirms Commitment to Wales Despite Club Interest
Craig Bellamy, who previously played for clubs including Liverpool and Manchester City before transitioning into coaching, has confirmed his dedication to the Wales national team after turning down offers from club sides.
The 46-year-old has been identified as a potential candidate to succeed Scott Parker at Burnley, where Bellamy served as assistant manager under Vincent Kompany, now head coach at Bayern Munich.
Additionally, Bellamy has been linked with Celtic, one of his former clubs, which is searching for a permanent manager following interim boss Martin O'Neill's tenure.
However, Bellamy is focused on leading Wales at Euro 2028, a tournament Wales will co-host with England, Scotland, and the Republic of Ireland. Football Association of Wales (FAW) officials have expressed to Wales their strong confidence that Bellamy will fulfill his contract through the end of the tournament.
"Everything's in place, I get completely backed and it's going to give me the opportunity in the next two years to improve again," Bellamy said ahead of Wales' friendly against Ghana in Cardiff on Tuesday.
"Links? I understand it but I don't look too far. I love what I have here.
"I've been offered that elsewhere as well, but I have this here already. Wales gave me this opportunity and one or two might not have because I was conscious I haven't managed before. Wales have given me this opportunity and I'm really grateful for that.
"I am ambitious, trust me. I want to earn loads and loads of money but there's a time and now, at this present moment, it just doesn't feel that time."
Wales Confident Bellamy Will Remain Despite Burnley Speculation
Appointed on a four-year contract in the summer of 2024, Bellamy has made a strong start in his first senior managerial role as Wales head coach. The former Wales captain remained unbeaten in his first nine matches, securing promotion to the Nations League's top tier and introducing an attacking style of play.
Despite this, Wales' first qualifying campaign under Bellamy ended in disappointment, with a home loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina in the World Cup play-off final in March.
Bellamy has frequently been linked with a transition to club management and has openly expressed his intention to pursue that path after his tenure with Wales. Nonetheless, the prospect of leading Wales at Euro 2028 provides significant motivation to stay.
No formal offers have been made for Bellamy to date, and any interested club would need to meet a release clause of at least £700,000 to secure his departure from the FAW.
"I couldn't see it being fair for me to walk away. That's not right," Bellamy stated.
"I had one or two players ringing up like, 'Is this true?'. Listen, we're not going anywhere. We're going again, we've got another two years.
"I've always wanted to do this role, so I don't want to wish this away. I get great backing, you know, and that's all I can ask for."
International Friendly: Wales vs Ghana
The upcoming friendly against Ghana will be broadcast live on BBC , BBC One Wales, , BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru, Sports Extra, as well as the website and app, with live text commentary available.
Ghana Match Offers Chance to Improve June Record
Wales are scheduled to play two friendlies, hosting Ghana at Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday before traveling to Bucharest to face Romania on Saturday.
Defenders Ben Davies and Connor Roberts have returned from long-term injuries, though Wales will be without Fulham's in-form attacking midfielder Harry Wilson. Swansea centre-back Ben Cabango has also withdrawn from the squad.
In response, Wales have called up three uncapped players: Cameron Congreve, Ollie Bostock, and teenage Leeds left-back Jayden Lienou.
Ticket sales for the Ghana match have been slow, with approximately 10,000 tickets sold by Monday afternoon. Ghana was one of England's opponents in the recent World Cup group stage.
"It's a difficult period, I have to be honest," Bellamy commented. "Don't forget it was half-term last week, this is a midweek game. If you've been with your kids for a week, I'm not sure I want to take them to a game Tuesday night and spend another two hours with them!
"So I understand quite a lot on this. Our Nations League games will be sold out.
"When I look at our record in June, June friendlies or June competitive games, nowhere near good enough. Thirteen games, nine losses, two wins - one was last year.
"You want to be a serious nation? Our June record's nowhere near, so we have to correct that."
