Shropshire Star

It's Shrewsbury Town v Wrexham . . . in Kenya

Shrewsbury Town's fierce rivalry with near neighbours Wrexham is about to go global as the two old rivals clash more than 6,400 miles from home in Kenya.

Published
Bill and Lynn Morris have taken Shrewsbury Town kits to Kenya – prompting the ‘local derby’ in Africa

A match has been organised for next month in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi by Ellesmere couple Bill and Lynn Morris.

They have raised money and collected football kits through their charity Kenyan Schools Project. So now they have arranged a match between two school teams with the sides due to wear Shrewsbury Town and Wrexham kits.

The Wrexham kit is handed over for the match

And the idea has caught the attention of the Kenyan media with talks taking place about featuring the match on television there.

Bill and Lynn were presented with a set of Shrewsbury Town kits by Martin James, head of the club's community development, at last month's home game against Carlisle.

Wrexham fan David Mainwaring then saw the pictures Bill had posted on Facebook and got the idea for his club to also donate a set of kit. The pair collected the kits at the Racecourse before Wrexham's recent home game against Woking.

"We've got a friend, Edward Mbugua, a football coach who works with slum kids in Nairobi," said Bill. "He's arranged a tournament for December 7 and 8 and the match will take place then between youngsters in Wrexham and Shrewsbury strips.

"We're going out to Kenya with the kits on December 5 and already there is a lot of interest in the game as a TV producer in Kenya contacted me on Facebook saying she is interested on featuring the story on children's television."

Bill and Lynn Morris, who have raised more than £35,000 for Kenyan schools since 2004, thanked the clubs for their support. To help provide more kits call Bill on 07727 211487 or visit http://www.kenyanschoolsproject. co. uk

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.