PICTURE from Tony Fitzmaurice shows Harry Wilson with Mylo Fitzmaurice.
THE MEDIA often tends to depict footballers as being “too good” to acknowledge their fans and often times the stars we see on our TV screens every weekend are portrayed as being arrogant and flashy.
However, as with most things in life, there is always an exception to the rule. In the footballing world right now, that seems to be Wales’ very own Harry Wilson.
Over the last few months in particular, the 22-year-old, who was born in Wrexham and raised in the Denbighshire Town of Corwen has displayed his generous nature in various ways and has presented a fresh contrast to the portrayal of footballers that we often see.
After his hometown club’s junior sides facilities were completely destroyed by recent floods in the area, Wilson stepped in and donated his shirt to be put up for auction to help them raise much needed funds.
Following Wales’ 1-0 Euro Qualifier win over Slovakia last Sunday, the winger handed his shirt over to his mum and dad, who still live in Corwen, who then passed it onto Corwen Football Club Juniors representatives.
The shirt, which has also been signed by the rest of the Wales squad who played that day, has been put up for auction to help the club after it suffered an estimated £6,500 of damage to its facilities.
Speaking to Arron Evans (who runs AFEFootballNews) for the Denbighshire Free Press this week, Corwen Juniors’ head of youth development Ian Evans says the support received from both Wilson, who was born in Wrexham and grew up in Corwen, and the community as a whole has been “brilliant”.
“Harry’s mum and dad got in touch with me after the Wales match against Slovakia to tell me that he wanted to do something for the club and had decided to donate his shirt,” he added.
“He’s a Corwen lad. Being a pro makes it difficult for him, but he comes back to watch the club whenever he can, as all his friends still play for Corwen FC.
“The response we’ve had to the auction of his shirt has been absolutely bonkers to be honest, the highest bid at the moment stands at £1000 and we expect that to go a little higher as well.”
If that wasn’t enough, I was then contacted by another person who had witnessed Wilson’s generosity, this time for the North Wales Chronicle newspaper, which covers Anglesey and Gwynedd (I’m a busy man!).
Tony Fitzmaurice, who helps out with Amlwch Ladies FC, told me that Wilson had left his son Mylo, 11, “chuffed to bits” with a series of kind gestures of late.
The Ysgol Amlwch pupil first met Wilson when he went to watch Wales play Denmark in Cardiff last November. He then sent a letter to his idol, who in return sent him back a thank you note along with a picture of himself signing some boots for him – which he and dad recently picked up at Wales’ 1-0 friendly win over Trinidad & Tobago at Wrexham’s Racecourse ground.
“He was thrilled to have met Harry,” Tony said.
“We are both huge Liverpool fans and follow all aspects of the club so we’ve been watching him play for a few years now and we’ve been impressed by his performances.
“He’s quickly become Mylo’s favourite player – especially when he scored the goal to knock Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup!”
Tony says he got to know Corwen FC’s aforementioned volunteer Ian Evans, when he took his Amwlch ladies side to face their ladies team and had mentioned Mylo to him.
“He told us to write him a letter and after the fifth attempt Mylo was happy with it and gave it to Ian, who is Harry’s uncle,” Tony said.
“We were then sent photos of Harry Wilson signing a pair of his boots and a quick thank you note. We went to the Wales game in Wrexham last week and picked them up.
“Harry had said he was chuffed with his first ever fan mail and that his mum had got all emotional reading it.
“He’s told Mylo to keep working hard for Amlwch Juniors and that if he gets a chance to come down to Corwen over the summer break they might even have a small kick about together.
“Mylo just can’t believe a real footballer has taken time and done something so cool as a thank you to him. Harry’s boots are now on his wall next to the thank you letter and a shirt signed by the Wales squad.”
Wilson, currently playing on loan at Championship side Derby County from Liverpool, has been a breath of fresh air on and off the field this season. Alongside his kindness towards the fans, “The King of Corwen” as he’s affectionately known at home, has also helped The Rams – by bagging 10 goals in 31 league appearances and is also up for this March EFL Championship Young Player of the Month prize.
To vote for Wilson in that competition, visit: https://eflypots.easports.com/
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