New mural a tribute to former Wales manager Gary Speed
A TOUCHING mural of former Wales football manager Gary Speed has reached the final stages of its completion in Cardiff.
The mural has been painted on the side of a building near Cardiff City Stadium and is part of a project by the team behind the My City My Shirt campaign.
It is on the junction of Atlas Road and Leckwith Road and close to the stadium that saw Wales recently qualify for the World Cup when they beat Ukraine 1-0.
A group of Cardiff creatives called Unify, the team behind the My City My Shirt campaign, aim to encourage more people to connect with their city and football.
The My City, My Shirt mural in Butetown features mother-of-two Maimuna Yoncana, originally from Guinea-Bissau, wearing a Cardiff City shirt and cradling her baby bump. The mural was designed to celebrate the diversity of the capital and was painted in April 2021 as part of a project of the same name organised by Cardiff creatives Yusuf Ismail and Shawqi Hasson.
The much-loved mural was recently re-painted after the original was painted over to make way for a McDonald’s advert.
The mural is now in a new location just across the road on James Street after it was re-painted with the help of Unify Creative and McDonald’s.
Another My City, My Shirt mural can be seen on Cardiff’s Quay Street, featuring freelance artist and creative Nicole Ready wearing a yellow Wales away shirt.
Yusuf said the Gary Speed mural was something they had been talking about for some time.
After the mural started to take shape earlier this month, just days after Wales qualified for the World Cup, it is now nearing completion.
“Featuring a portrait of the former Wales manager, it is emblazoned with the words ‘Only one Gary Speed’.