Wrexham Officers set for second friendly match against community side

Wrexham Town Police Station FC return to action this weekend in another community-focused fixture.

Fresh from the success of a keenly-contested win against Bellevue FC, the officers will now face Wrexham Inclusion in their second friendly match.

The impressive Colliers Park will once again host Saturday’s game, which will also be streamed to an online audience.

Sgt Dave Smith believes the game will help to strengthen relationships between Wrexham officers and the communities they serve.

He said: “The Bellevue match was a brilliant day for everyone involved and was played in the right spirit for the full 90 minutes.

“The aim of this community engagement initiative has always been about forging stronger links between ourselves and the people of Wrexham.

“I feel like we made big progress in that respect with the Bellevue match and now we want to build on that in this next game.

“Wrexham Inclusion are a club whose staff do so much good in the town’s community with their inclusivity and diversity policies.

“On a personal level, I can’t wait to be involved in the game after missing the last match because of COVID.

“We’re so grateful to the FAW and to Lucy Scott (Colliers Park Facilities Manager) for allowing us to use the venue for these games.

“It’s great to hear that the Football Association of Wales (FAW) declared their support for the Wrexham City of Culture bid during our game.”

Wrexham Inclusion FC are the largest mental health and disability football club in Wales.

With over 100 players within the organisation’s youth and adult sides, the club play weekly matches at Plas Madoc Leisure Centre.

Wrexham Inclusion General Manager, Wayne Greenshields said: “As an inclusive club we travel the lengths and depths of the UK playing against other mental health and disability football clubs.

“We support people from a diverse range of backgrounds, including those who’ve experienced poverty and deprivation, social isolation, substance misuse problems, homelessness, as well as people with disabilities and mental health issues.

“We feel this is a great chance for our club, for the police officers involved, and for the town of Wrexham to see how inclusion and culture work hand in hand.

“With the game being streamed to an online audience, it could also open people's eyes and opinions to the diversity of our wonderful town.”

The Calon FM broadcasting team will be providing commentary duties for the game, which kicks off at 10am.

Funding for the live stream, provided by ORB, has come from Wrexham’s UK City of Culture 2025 bid.

Hosting City of Culture will offer a platform for communities that don’t normally have a voice to tell their story. It would mean that Wrexham would become the focus for culture in the UK for 2025.

The competition uses culture to ‘level up’ areas of the UK, bringing increased productivity and opportunities to the winning region.

You can keep up to date with the latest news on Wrexham’s bid by searching for the #tag #Wrecsam2025 on social media.

The game will be played behind closed doors, with live streaming available to view via the Wrecsam2025 Facebook page (www.facebook.com/wrecsam2025) or via the following link: https://www.evt.live/inclusionvpolice from 10am on Saturday, 5 February.