A school football team in prime West Bromwich Albion territory has changed its colours – to the Wolves’ gold and black.
Youngsters from the Cape Primary in Smethwick, just a stone’s throw from the Hawthorns ground, have accepted a gift of new kit from the Championship club after their own became weathered and worn.
Team coach Rob Fearn said: “I realise that the Baggies are the big team round here but I don’t think anyone will mind playing in the Wolves’ colours – I’m sure they will recognise the gesture for what it is.”
The school set up a special fund to replace their old green soccer strip and wrote to 72 professional clubs asking each of them for a fiver.
But instead of the anticipated £360, only one of the clubs, Oldham Athletic, responded – by sending £5.
However Wolves came up with an even better solution, and their offer of kitting out the seven-a-side team with shirts, shorts and socks was immediately snapped up.
Rob, a Walsall fan, said he did not see the decision as controversial.
“We do have one or two dyed-in-the-wool Baggies fans on the staff but no one was going to turn down an offer like this,” he said.
“To be fair, it could be that some clubs take longer than others to respond, so we don’t think badly of the ones that haven’t.
“We only contacted the clubs in the Championship and Leagues 1 and 2. We decided it wasn’t worth even trying the Premier League clubs.
“Walsall offered us some tickets and I’m sure one or two other clubs would have got back to us in time. “
He added: “We were fed up of playing in our existing kit which was falling apart. We needed a new one, even if it meant changing colours, and now we’re really looking forward to playing in them.”
Wolves spokeswoman Rachael Heyhoe Flint said the club was delighted to help out the team, which is currently sitting second in the West Bromwich Seven-A-Side League.
“They didn’t seem to be having much luck and we were happy to give the kit a good home,” she said.
As a treat, the youngsters were invited to the Wolves’ training ground in Compton to pick up their new kit.
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19 Comments
NICE TO SEE SANDWELL COUNCIL TRYING TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION OF THEIR KIDS. GIVE THEM SOME MOLINEUX SEASON TICKETS TOO, AND THEY MAY STAND A CHANCE OF TURNING OUT OK.
@ 1
Maybe they’ll teach them how to use capslock…
If they were to give them season tickets then the council would be done for child abuse!!!!!
Got to say its a great gesture by the wolves - but I think the team WILL get some stick playing in a west bromwich league wearing wolves kits…
Hope they are fast runners…..
Fair play to the Dings tho, great gesture! Unlike Albion not to contribute as our award winning Community Programme is one of the very best in the country. Shame those poor kids are going to be bullied and harangued for the rest of their school lives tho!!
Y’know, regardless of whatever any Baggies fan says on here, Wolves have always been one of the more generous clubs in the country when it comes to things like this.
Typical that the ‘big clubs’ (Chelsea, Man Utd) didn’t give a penny! Good on Wolves for such a great gesture. Makes me proud to be a Wolves fan!
Superb gesture by the Wolves, fair play to them. Interesting that only Oldham sent the fiver - maybe it was Lee Hughes?!
Surely someone out there can afford to buy these kids a West Brom Kit and save ‘em the embarrassment.
psychological warfare begins!!!!
Oh stop being so sad, if they had been given Manure, Liverpool, Chelsea etc shirts no one would have said a word. So they dress up as dingles. Good on yer Wolves, and thats from a baggies fan
Well done wolves, i still fear there could be other schools around the west browich area where less fortunate kids could be forced to wear albion kits. Send Jez and Rachel a quick email and they’ll soon see you right!!!
Nathan - some kids need football shirts - others need spelling lessons… guess which one you are.
So i missed an m out of broMwich, i think it was more of a mis type then not being able to spell! Maybe you should come back to me when you have my qualifications Happy, or is happy going to be Saddo come 10pm?
At my old school, Highfields, I used to wear a Baggies shirt for games. I wasn’t a baggies fan and I never received any flack. How times have changed and not always for the better. One of my sons is a Villa fan, one an Ipswich fan, leaving my youngest as a Wolves fan. Plenty of banter but absolutely no hatred. I shall hate it if the Baggies beat us tonight but I wont hate the Baggies and will wish them well though not as well as us.
future boggies are seeing the light………cool!
Yes we know the Wolves are renown for their generosity every time we play them they let us WIN,
Boing Boing
Well done to Wolves. tremendous gesture. The main thing is the kids are wearing a ‘local’ clubs colours, not a Man United kit in sight.
There’s far too much hatred on both sides these days. I grew up with Villa as our rivals not Wolves.
Top marks to the Wolves for this. We need kids supporting local teams and not the usual suspects in The Prem.