Epic murals of Wales's football heroes are appearing across the country as the countdown to the 2022 Qatar World Cup draws ever closer. Gareth Bale, Harry Wilson, Joe Allen, Joe Rodon and Rhys Norrington-Davies have all been immortalised on buildings around areas of the country where they have special links.
The project is being delivered by Mentrau Iaith Cymru, a national organisation that supports a network of 22 local Welsh language initiatives, Mentrau Iaith, across Wales. It supports the Mentrau Iaith network in a variety of ways, such as marketing and communications, training and lobbying for the protection and growth of the Welsh language.
As part of its football World Cup project, it has commissioned murals to be painted of some of the nation's top footballers across various Welsh buildings ahead of the illustrious tournament, which kicks off on November 20. Wales will take on USA, England and Iran in the group stage, where they hope they will gain enough points to advance to the knockout stages. Get stories straight to your inbox with our newsletter.
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The artwork of Swansea-born centre back Joe Rodon, who currently plays for Rennes on loan from Tottenham, has been immortalised on the side of Siop Tŷ Tawe along Christina Street. It depicts him with his arm aloft, and his name and the number six displayed on his back. It also features the words: 'Yma o Hyd you sons of speed', a reference to the Michael Sheen's rousing speech, which went viral after he delivered it on the TV show A League of Their Own.
The original rousing speech, urging Wales to victory over the old enemy England in Qatar, was only seen in the TV studio, but it became an internet sensation after a member of the audience put it on social media. You can read more about that by clicking here.
Joe Allen's mural can be spotted on the side of The Farmers Arms pub in Narberth, whilst Rhys Norrington-Davies' depiction can be spotted in Bow Street, where he played at youth level. Harry Wilson's mural can be found in Corwen, in the Denbighshire town he was brought up, whilst Gareth Bale's face can be found immortalised in Cardiff. There are six more murals yet to be painted.
Head development officer, Tomos Jones said: "The mural is part of a national project organised by Mentrau Iaith Cymru. There will be a total of 11 murals appearing across Wales, each of them representing a different player or manager. Every mural is going to contain some aspects of the Welsh language, so we're looking to support the team during the World Cup but also promote the use of the Welsh language at the same time.
"We've had great feedback so far, we've seen lots of people hanging outside taking photos of it and that sort of stuff. It's had a really good response on social media. We've looked at the network on a whole to match players up with the location, so maybe where they used to play, where they were born and that sort of thing."
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