James Rowberry has left his role as assistant coach of Wales, becoming the second member of Craig Bellamy's backroom team to depart this summer.
The 41-year-old has decided to leave in order to focus on his role at Championship side Stoke City, where he is currently assistant to Mark Robins. Rowberry first joined the Wales set-up in 2023, initially serving as the FAW's Head of Elite Coach Education.
Stoke City commitment
He left that role at the beginning of 2025 to take on the number two role at the Potters, but continued to work within the Wales set-up as assistant to Bellamy. The current Wales boss appointed Rowberry to his backroom staff as an assistant coach in August 2024, and until now he has undertaken that role alongside his duties at Stoke.
However, he will now give his role at the bet365 Stadium his full attention. WalesOnline understands Rowberry actually departed some six weeks ago.
Coaching career
Rowberry started coaching at the age of just 21, becoming one of the youngest to ever complete a UEFA Pro Licence at the age of 29. He then worked at Cardiff City for eight years, starting out in the academy set-up before then working as a first-team coach under several different managers in the capital.
Before Wales he served as head coach at Newport County for a year, before departing in October 2022.
Backroom staff changes
Rowberry's exit from the Wales set-up is the latest behind-the-scenes development since Craig Bellamy's collapsed move to Burnley earlier this summer. Bellamy had looked certain to join the Clarets back in June, only to perform the latest of late u-turns.
A disagreement over his backroom staff was cited by some as one of the factors behind the breakdown, but Bellamy now has a couple of holes to fill in his backroom staff ahead of the upcoming Nations League campaign.
Piet Cremers quit his position as assistant coach back in July, shortly after news of Bellamy's failed move to Turf Moor had emerged. The 31-year-old Dutchman left to take on the head coach role at Club NXT, Club Brugge's youth academy who play in the Belgian second tier.
