18 Nov 2022

Trains, a railway bridge and Transport for Wales’ (TfW) head office are all being transformed in support of the Wales men’s football team at the World Cup.

Several TfW trains are going to be adorned with an illustration by local artist Phil Morgan, created for Gŵyl Cymru Festival, in time for Wales’ first game of the tournament against the USA on Monday 21 November.

A separate World Cup trophy and bucket hat design has been turned into an iconic mural on Newport Road Bridge in Cardiff, one of the busiest routes into the Welsh capital.

The mural has been created by visual artists Yusuf Ismail and Shawqi Hasson, who make up Cardiff-based creative collective Unify and has been produced as part of Gŵyl Cymru, a festival from the Football Association of Wales (FAW) in partnership with the Arts Council of Wales.

Antonio DiCaprio, Rail Infrastructure Standards Manager at TfW, said: “We are excited about the work Yusuf and Shawqi (Unify) have completed for us and the FAW on our infrastructure.

“We are committed to continuing our engagement with FAW and Unify to explore more artwork opportunities for our infrastructure with the purpose to connect, inspire and excite our local communities through sport and the work we at TfW are doing to improving public transport in Wales.”

TfW along with their Infrastructure Manager, Amey Infrastructure Wales, who own and maintain Newport Road Bridge, have worked closely with Cardiff Council and Centregreat Rail to facilitate and support the installation of the artwork on the bridge, which has been commissioned by the FAW.

Yusuf Ismail, from Unify, commented: “We’re really pleased to be involved in the installation of this artwork and would like to thank all the partners involved in making this happen.

“The response has been overwhelmingly positive and helps cement the legacy in this historic moment in Welsh football.”

As well as the work to transform its trains and the Newport Road bridge, TfW will also be lighting up its head office red when Wales play the USA, Iran and England at the World Cup.

TfW staff from across the Welsh rail, bus and active travel network have also recorded a bilingual good luck video from across the country in support of Rob Page’s squad and on Wednesday members of Tonna Male Voice Choir surprised rail passengers with a rendition of the Welsh national anthem on a number of TfW services.