The WFA- generated story about Tommy Charlton and Alan Kennedy attending the WFA England trials at Burnley FC’s prestigious training ground created a media storm, with all major media channels picking up on the great story, generating in excess of £5 million worth of exposure, according to our PR company RDPR! Over 100 media hits.
Appearances with WFA Chief Executive Paul Carr saw Tommy – brother of England World Cup ’66 heroes Sir Bobby and Jack Charlton- featured on both the ITV and BBC breakfast shows.
Most of the National press featured the story, including the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, The Sun, The Star, Telegraph, Daily Express and Mail on Sunday, and Tommy was also on Radio 5 and Radio 4. Paul and Tommy also appeared on the new Love Sport London based radio station on Sunday. There was also extensive coverage in the regional press and on digital media, with the Global reach including reports on Eurosport and in Dublin, Germany, Bulgaria, France and Ghana.
The England trials held last Saturday were filmed by The Press Association, Sky Sports, BBC and ITV, all resulting in national and regional TV reports, and the story continued past the weekend with further press articles and radio interviews.
Commenting on the coverage, Carr said: “Such fantastic and unprecedented exposure in the mainstream media can only significantly raise awareness of this unique sport and encourage wider participation.”
“Tommy and Alan did very well in the trials, but the squad will not be selected until after the final trial next month, ahead of the World’s 1st Walking Football international, England versus Italy in May.”
