Posted: Fri 12th Jul 2019

Joey Jones re-united with historic Yugoslavia v Wales shirt at launch of ‘Football Forever!’ exhibition

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Friday, Jul 12th, 2019

A brand new exhibition celebrating Welsh football heritage opens in Wrexham this week at the town’s museum.

Football Forever! Introducing the Story of Football in Wales and Wales in Football is the latest exhibition, inspired by the Welsh Football Collection, to open at Wrexham County Borough Museum & Archives.

The exhibition highlights the eventful history of Welsh football through its links to the First World War, the Aberfan Colliery Disaster, the challenges of foreign travel, the 1924 Paris Olympics, the rise of feminism, disability and sport, the importance of a single street in Swansea and the sport’s origins in the town of Wrexham and the village of Ruabon.

Last night saw the official opening, with Mayor Rob Walsh along with Deputy Leader of Wrexham Council Cllr Hugh Jones giving speeches along with having the privilege to hold the ribbon for footballing legend Joey Jones to open the exhibition.

Wrexham AFC legend Joey Jones was re-united last night with his yellow Wales V Yugoslavia shirt from the 15th December 1982 – a UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying Group 4 game in the Podgorica Stadium in Montenegro, which ended 4-4 with Joey scoring on 70 mins as well as being booked in the very first minute.

The unique collection on display includes objects and archival material from the Welsh Football Collection, selected with the guidance of two guest curators, both dedicated fans of the game.

The collection appears in a series of themed displays: Home Internationals, Stars and Characters, Europe and the World, Club and Domestic and All Forms of the Game including:

  • Trevor Ford’s No.9 shirt worn against Scotland, 1955.
  • Len Davies’ shirt from Wales’s first overseas tour, 1929.
  • Aaron Ramsey’s shirt from the game against Estonia, 2009.
  • Match programme from the ‘battle of Wrexham’ against Austria, 1955.
  • Captain’s arm-band from Ryan Giggs’ last international appearance.
  • A ‘golden’ boot awarded to John Charles.
  • And a medal awarded to Moses Russell for being part of the winning team that beat England, Scotland and Ireland in the 1923-24 Home International Championship.

Cllr Hugh Jones said: “Wrexham is rightly the spiritual home of Welsh football and Wrexham Museum has cared for the Welsh Football Collection since it was established in 2000 with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

“The recent announcement of the Welsh Government’s intention to establish a Welsh Football Museum here at Wrexham Museum is a significant one for the area, the town and the museum. This exhibition perhaps provides a taster of what is to come.”

Alongside the displays visitors will have the chance to:

  • Enjoy archive footage of historic matches courtesy of British Pathé Ltd.
  • Choose their top team to represent our country.
  • Rank Welsh goalkeepers in order of greatness.
  • Debate the rankings of Wales’s Greatest Ever Strikers.
  • Try on some 19th century-style football kit.
  • And make up their own football chants.

Football Forever! opens to the public today and remains on show until Saturday, January 11th 2020 so pop along to Wrexham Museum and have a look.



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