Student murals brighten up the dale

Supporters attending Rochdale AFC’s recent home games may have noticed a touch of colour added to the back wall of the Sandy Lane end.

Students from the local Falinge Community Hub have designed and painted a mural, paying tribute to both Rochdale Football Club and Rochdale Hornets, as well as thanking the NHS and displaying antiracism messages.

The mural also contains a tribute to the Wonder Wall on Sandy Lane, and features paintings of rows of supporters watching on.

Jack Donnelly from Rochdale Connections Trust, who headed up the project, said:

"We wanted to give something back. The Football Club are a huge part of the local community, which is why we chose to paint the mural here. It was a fun project to take on. We had a long meeting about what we wanted to put on each part of the wall, and it’s turned out great!"

Fourteen young people, aged between 7-23 years old were involved in the project, most of whom were either taking part in their Duke of Edinburgh Award or were from the Princes Trust.

Councillor Rachel Massey, who has been heavily involved in the project, added:

"I was thrilled to be able to link up with this creative group of young people in our community to engage their creativity, help build their confidence and show them what we can achieve when we work cooperatively together with our great football club in the heart of Rochdale.

"The colourful crowds show people getting back together after Covid... The students chose to make the faces of the crowd grey as they felt it was important not to show any particular race or ethnicity."

"Since the project each young person has grown tremendously - some have applied to University and got in and some have part time jobs. It has been an absolute pleasure working with each of them and I can’t wait to see what is in store for each them next on their journey."

Dale's Commercial Director, Frances Fielding, said:

"As a club, we're delighted to have teamed up with the Falinge Community Hub. The students have done a brilliant job in turning what was once a blank and dull space, into a colourful and vibrant backdrop, and I want to say a big thank you to them.

"We will certainly look to work on more projects with them in the future!"