Our director of football Iwan Williams has announced that five players will be among the coaches at our club’s new development centre. He is delighted that he will soon be welcoming Les Davies, Cameron Barry, Ben Owen, Cian Williams and Dylan WIlliams to his team of coaches.

Iwan said that “it’s great to have so much interest from the first team squad as it shows that we’re all pulling in the same direction”. He added that “having some of the first team players as coaches exemplifies the pathway that we want to follow for developing young players in the Bangor area and strengthens our message that we are a community club with big ambitions”.

The players themselves are looking forward to getting involved. Les Davies has said that “the fans have been a big part of my career and it would be nice to give something back to the people who have supported me for many years”. He also talked of his desire to benefit from Iwan Williams’ coaching experience as he seeks to “hopefully become a good coach in the future”.

Cameron Barry has said that having enjoyed being an academy player for five years motivated him to get involved, and that he “can’t wait to help give young players from Bangor the same experience”. Cian Williams echoed these sentiments, mentioning that “growing up, football was something I always looked forward to every week, whether it was training during the week or a game at the weekend”. He also spoke of his delight at “being part of the development centre alongside great coaches”.

The creation of the development centre has been described as a “great idea that shows the ambition and direction of the club” by midfielder Ben Owen. He added that he has “enjoyed every second of the season with the first team” and is pleased to have the opportunity to “help in any way with the development centre”.

Fellow midfielder Dylan Williams is particularly happy to be involved with the development centre as he describes himself as “a Bangor lad who is obsessed with playing, watching and discussing football”. He added “I look forward to passing on my knowledge and experience of the game to the young and upcoming Bangor 1876 players” in the development centre.

As director of football, Iwan Williams is keen to ensure that the development centre will strengthen our football club in the short, medium, and long term. He has described the project as “something we want to be able to look back on with pride in five years time”. He added “it is important to ensure that there is a pathway from the youngest age group right through the first team”.

The way in which the Bangor 1876 squad has taken shape this season gives Iwan confidence that the development centre will fit in neatly with the overall structure of the football club. He has said that “our first team coaches Mel and Dylan have already shown that they have faith in local young players by providing them with numerous opportunities”. Iwan also stated that “the plan is to build a development centre that will become an academy when the time is right”.