‘The Story of Welsh International Football’ Celebrated at Wrexham Museum

The fascinating story of Welsh international football is to be celebrated at a unique exhibition at Wrexham’s Museum.

While the nation was counting down the days to ‘Le Rendez-Vous’ with destiny at the Euro 2016 finals in France, staff and volunteers at Wrexham Museum have been busy preparing a new exhibition to mark Wales’s return to the world stage – celebrating our first appearance in an international championship finals since 1958.

Fitting in with the hashtag of the Wales team #TogetherStronger, Wrexham Museum asked two potential volunteers and lifetime football fans, Phil Stead (author of Red Dragons: The Story of Welsh Football) and Ceri Stennett (founder of the Welsh Football Collection) if they would serve the nation and be prepared to manage (curate) an exhibition that celebrates the story of Welsh international football.

With only a few weeks to prepare the two guest curators helped choose the best objects from the Welsh football collection having divided the exhibition into seven themes: Icons, Local Heroes, The Early Years, World Cup Glory, Old Rivals, The Fans and Together Stronger.

Each theme explores a different aspect of the beautiful game through objects and archives:

· A Wales team shirt from the last game before the First World War

· Player’s shirts worn by Tommy ‘TG’ Jones, John Charles, Terry Yorath, Joey Jones and Gary Speed

· Caps awarded to such famous names as Billy Meredith, Tommy Bamford and Cliff Jones

· Pennants and badges from Wales’s first overseas games

· Memorabilia from the 1958 World Cup

Cllr Hugh Jones, Lead Member for Communities and Partnerships, said: “Wrexham is the accepted birth place of football in Wales and so is the natural home for an exhibition about the story of Welsh International Football. Wrexham Museum itself is located halfway between The Wynnstay Arms Hotel where the Football Association of Wales was founded and the Racecourse Ground, the venue for many historic international matches, not least the debut of John Charles.

“Wrexham Museum has been the guardian of the Welsh Football Collection since 2000. Touched by Greatness: The Story of Welsh International Football is the ninth in a continuing and popular series of football-themed exhibitions staged at the museum.

“I would like to thank Phil Stead and Ceri Stennett for their invaluable help in staging this exhibition at such short notice. While football attracts many armchair experts, both guest curators are widely acknowledged for their knowledge and love of the beautiful game as it is played by the Welsh team.

“Hopefully in the coming weeks we will have more match glory to celebrate and a few mementos to add to the collection. Meanwhile, we can all be inspired by past glories and the memorabilia on show in this exhibition.”

Touched by Greatness: The Story of Welsh International Football will run until 3rd June, 2017 – so plenty of time to pop by and have a nose!

Admission to the exhibition is free.