Football Association of Wales (FAW) chief football officer David Adams says Craig Bellamy was right to hold talks with Burnley in the summer.

Wales boss Bellamy – whose contract with the FAW expires after Euro 2028 – has made no secret of his desire to manage at club level in the future.

He spoke with former club Burnley in the summer over the possibility of being named as Scott Parker’s successor at Turf Moor.

However, Bellamy remained with Wales and has since stated it was his decision to stay in his role with the national team.

Despite the saga, Adams believes it was the correct decision for Bellamy to speak with the Clarets.

“The way it played out was unfortunate, things get leaked these days,” he told the latest episode of BBC’s Feast of Football podcast, which can only be found on BBC Sounds.

“Naturally, the longer things go on, people start to make their own noise in some respects.

“Internally, Craig has always been very open and transparent about opportunities.

“We all know that Craig wants to eventually go and work in club football, he’s made that very clear across his time here.

“For him to go and speak to Burnley was the right thing to do, knowing that he does want to do that at some point.”

Adams held regular talks with Burnley chairman Alan Pace in the summer, as he did during the process that led to Bellamy leaving the Lancashire club in 2024 to take charge of Wales.

“We were happy for Craig to go and speak to them,” he added. “And then unfortunately, the way it played out was that they were saying he had accepted the job when he hadn’t.

“Craig was telling us the same thing as that and then one morning he rang and said ‘I’m staying’.

“Craig’s very transparent, we speak a lot, we get on well, so that’s how it landed really.”

Amid concerns over the possibility of losing Bellamy, Adams revealed he continues to assess future managerial candidates as part of the FAW’s succession planning process.

“Behind the scenes in my job, I have to be alert to these things and I have to have a list of people in the background that I’d speak to if [Bellamy’s departure] ever materialised,” he added.

“We’ve got a profile of what we’re looking for, which we’ve been pretty successful in doing by selecting former international players into the role.

“That’s always our preference, to find someone who is connected to Wales, is passionate about Wales and has Wales in their heart.

“That’s been a really good profile of manager to look at in the last 10 years and we would try and stick to that profile ideally.”

Adams described the news that Cardiff’s Principality Stadium will host the women’s Champions League final in 2029 as a “game-changer” for the nation.

Cardiff City Stadium hosted the event in 2017 in the same year the men’s final was played at Principality Stadium – known as National Stadium of Wales for Uefa events due to sponsorship rules.

“It’s absolutely incredible, a game-changer for us,” he said.

“You’ve seen the growth in the women’s game. When I first came into the job, we were getting maybe 1,000 people at Rodney Parade for women’s games.

“We got 15,000 at Cardiff City Stadium in this last campaign, so you can see the growth and how quickly the game is moving.”

Adams says young females seeing role models play at the home of Cardiff City and Principality Stadium is “just inspirational for those players”.

Wales’ women’s side qualified for a major tournament for the first time under Rhian Wilkinson as they reached Euro 2025 in Switzerland.

They are now aiming to secure a spot at a World Cup for the first time and continue their 2027 qualification bid with a double header against Albania in October.

Further down the line, the 2035 women’s World Cup will be held in the United Kingdom, with England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales all due to host matches for the global showpiece.

With Wales bidding to qualify and be competitive at the tournament in future, FAW chiefs remain determined to strengthen their player pool.

Despite the huge progress made in recent years, Adams feels the governing body still has plenty of work to do.

“Our goal is to create a pathway, which hasn’t been there for women’s football, where girls can actually play in a talent system which prepares them to play in tournament football on a consistent basis,” he said.

“I don’t think we’re there yet, personally. I think what we’ve done in the last three years is fantastic, with the girls’ regional programme.

“But now we’ve got to try and make sure the girls graduate out of that system and play in the top leagues across Europe.

“That’s what gives you the best chance of qualifying consistently for major tournaments.”