The entire community of Walsall is being urged to ‘paint the town red’ as part of a campaign to back its football team on the road to Wembley.
Tens of thousands of fans will be travelling to the national stadium on Sunday, March 22 to watch Walsall take on Bristol City in the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
As part of the build-up to the game, residents, businesses, workplaces and schools in Walsall are being encouraged to unite behind Dean Smith’s team by decking the town out in team colours using banners, scarves and Saddlers shirts.
The most impressive efforts will be rewarded by a visit from the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy video team – and the trophy itself.
Sponsors Johnstone’s Paint, which has been bringing colour to the beautiful game since 2006, will be asking fans to ‘Paint Walsall Red’ on Tuesday March 10.
To try and secure a visit from the trophy, people can outline or display their ‘Paint Walsall Red’ efforts on Johnstone’s Paint social media channels - @JohnstonesPaint on Twitter using #PaintWalsallRed or the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Facebook page – or by e-mailing [email protected]
Ben Wilde, brand and sponsorship manager for Johnstone’s Paint, said: “Excitement is high across Walsall with the club’s first appearance at Wembley drawing ever closer.
“Painting the town red is a fantastic way for the whole community to come together and demonstrate their support for Dean Smith and the team.
“We are asking everyone to get into the Wembley spirit and deck the town out in red.
“There are no restrictions on what we are looking for – it would be great to see shops, offices and businesses backing the team by putting red displays in their windows and schools taking part in non-uniform days to allow children to dress in red.
“We want to make it a very exciting day and continue to build the feel good factor around the whole Walsall community ahead of the big game.”
Johnstone’s Paint, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary as a leading paint manufacturer in 2015, has sponsored the Football League Trophy for the last nine years.