A lifelong fan of Wrexham AFC was in “seventh heaven” after being chosen to help officially launch his beloved team’s new away kit.
Wrexham FC – The Racecourse, Ifor Williams Trailers sponsor of the away kit
Wrexham FC – The Racecourse, Kyle Jones from Ifor Williams Trailers pictured Mike Fondop, Mark Harris, Jazzi Barnum-Bobb and JJ Hooper
Kyle Jones, 29, works as a programmer at Ifor Williams Trailers who are the club’s main front of shirt sponsors and was thrilled to be invited to unveil the white shirt and red shorts along with four of the players.
Once again, the distinctive Ifor Williams Trailers logo is on the front of the home and away shirts.
According to the club, the partnership was a perfect fit because of the iconic trailer firm’s community spirit which matched their own ethos as a club that’s owned and run by the fans.
The company, which has factories in Cynwyd, Corwen and Deeside, has a global network of distributors as far afield as Australia and New Zealand.
Kyle, who lives in Wrexham, said: “I’ve been a Wrexham fan since I can remember and I came to my first game with my dad and brother in 2000.
“It was against Bury and unfortunately we lost one nil but that didn’t put me off – they were still in the Football League then and Lee Trundle was playing for us.
“I attend every home game with friends or even alone if they’re all working and like the rest of the fans, I’ve been through quite a few ups and downs.
“I suppose the most memorable moments were winning the LDV Vans Trophy in Cardiff and the FA Trophy at Wembley.
“Supporting Wrexham is in my DNA and it’s a football mad town so I was absolutely delighted to be invited to launch the away kit.
“To work for the company that’s sponsoring the shirts is just fantastic. To be invited down today. I’m in seventh heaven.
“It fills me full of pride seeing that IWT logo on the front. It’s a great partnership.”
It was a sentiment echoed by club secretary Geraint Parry who’s been busy signing new players in readiness for the first home match against Barrow on Saturday, August 3.
He said: “I think that it’s fantastic that Ifor Williams Trailers is sponsoring us again because they are a community-based business who have lots of Wrexham fans working for them.
“Although they are based in North Wales, they also have a world-wide reach and when you go on your travels and see a trailer in front of you it’s got the famous blue logo on the back.
“This is another vote of confidence by Ifor Williams Trailers in Wrexham Football Club.
“We got into the play-offs last year so hopefully we’ll keep improving and keep progressing. This year we obviously hope to go that one step further and get ourselves back in the league. That is the holy grail for Wrexham.
“We get better support at the moment than we did in our Football League days but we are a community-owned club.”
Striker JJ Hooper, 25, is looking forward to his first season at the Racecourse after signing from Grimsby.
He said: “I think it’s a really good set up here at Wrexham. The club definitely shouldn’t be where it is in the conference. It’s definitely a massive club and the fans are amazing.
“The new away kit is lovely. My favourite colour is red so I’m happy there’s a lot of red in the kit. It’s massive for the club to have sponsors like Ifor Williams Trailers that support the club all the way.”
Right back Jazzi Barnum-Bobb, 23, is another new Dragons recruit.
“It’s not just the 11 players on the pitch that help the team go up. It’s the fans, it’s the sponsors, it’s the staff and everyone else as well – so having good sponsors and us wearing the shirt with pride is a big thing.“
Richard Hughes, the Human Resources Manager Ifor Williams Trailers, said: “We have many die-hard Wrexham AFC fans among our staff at Ifor Williams trailers, including season ticket holders and Wrexham Supporters’ Trust members.
“Wrexham AFC has a brilliant track record for youth sport with the boys and girls’ teams, and also for disabled football, which is another reason we are proud to partner the club again this year.
“The women’s team gained promotion last season and we’re keeping our fingers crossed the men can follow suit this time.”
