Welsh football museum acquires ‘quirky’ object

The project to create a Welsh national football museum in Wrexham has added an unusual object to its collection ahead of its opening next year. 

The museum has acquired a tooth that was knocked out of Gemma Evans’ mouth during a Cymru Women Euros play-off match against Ireland. 

Evans was part of the team that saw Wales make history by beating Ireland over two legs and qualifying for a major women’s tournament for the first time, with the Euros finals being held in Switzerland this summer. 

Evans’ tooth was knocked out during the second leg in Dublin. Another donation to the museum was the boots worn by Lily Woodham, who scored a vital goal in the first leg against Ireland in Cardiff. 

“The tooth is a quirky addition which I’m sure future visitors will be particularly interested in,” said Nick Jones, the football museum officer at Wrexham Museum.

“Thanks to Gemma, Lily and the Football Association of Wales for the donation of these fantastic objects to the Welsh Football Collection. It’s great to have items that connect closely to the women’s team and their breakthrough qualification for a first major tournament this summer.” 

The team also made history in February when a game in Wrexham against Sweden attracted the biggest crowd ever for Cymru Women’s match played outside Cardiff. 

Wales’s first football museum is being developed alongside an enhanced and expanded Wrexham Museum. Both museums, which will be run by the museum team at Wrexham Council, will open in the same building in the city centre in spring next year.

The working title for the project is the Museum of Two Halves. The building, which was built in 1857 as a barracks for the Denbighshire Militia, became the home of Wrexham Museum in 1996. 

Wrexham is the birthplace of the Football Association of Wales and also the home of Wrexham AFC, a club that has gained a huge profile after being bought by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. 

Wrexham, which plays in League One after two successive promotions, is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world. 

Wrexham Museum is the custodian of the official Welsh Football Collection, which includes thousands of items from Welsh football history. 

Wrexham Museum is being developed by Wrexham Council’s museum team in association with exhibitions designer Haley Sharpe Design, architect Purcell and contractor SWG Construction. 

Funding for the project has come from Wrexham Council, Welsh Government, National Lottery Heritage Fund, UK Government (through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund) and the Wolfson Foundation.