The Football Association of Wales (FAW) is delighted to announce the appointment of Matty Jones as Cymru U21s Head Coach.
Jones, who is a UEFA Pro Licence holder, represented Cymru 13 times during his playing career and enjoyed time at Leeds United and Leicester City at club level. He joined the FAW as manager of Cymru U18s in 2020 following a long spell as coach and mentor with Swansea City, where he was responsible for the club’s U23 academy team. Jones then joined Gemma Grainger’s coaching staff and helped the Cymru Women’s National Team reach the FIFA Women’s World Cup play-offs for the first time earlier this month.
Speaking about his appointment, Jones said: “I’m really grateful to everyone at the FAW for this opportunity and to all those who have supported me along this journey. It’s hard to contain the emotion that comes with this appointment because it’s not just a job but a sense of pride, passion and love.”
“Representing your country, regardless of what level, is something that you should always pride yourself on and that’s something I’ve always done. I had to overcome a lot of adversity during my playing career, so getting the chance to work with young players now and knowing what type of journey they are on will allow me to support, advise and guide them. There’s no better feeling and I’m really excited to work with them.”
FAW Chief Football Officer David Adams added: “We are delighted to announce Matty as our Cymru U21s Head Coach.
“His own unique journey in professional football, combined with his passion and experience in player development – both in professional football and within our Cymru youth national teams – and his passion and ability to connect to the individual made him the standout candidate during this process.
“We believe this key appointment will enable us to continue our alignment and progression of players into our Senior Men’s National Team.”
Jones will take charge of Cymru U21s for the first time in a friendly against Austria later this month and has named a 26-player squad, with 21 travelling to Vienna. The match will take place on Tuesday 27th September and form part of Cymru’s preparations for the UEFA U21 EURO 2025 qualifiers which begin next year.
