Pupils at Whitehall Nursery and Infant School were treated to a special surprise visit from Saddlers duo Daniel Kanu and Courtney Clarke. The players met several children inside the school’s library and handed out a number of Walsall FC 2025/26 home shirts as part of Walsall FC Foundation’s ‘Our Town Our Top’ project.
Our Town Our Top, supported by NoFo Brew Co, is an initiative designed to gift Walsall FC shirts to children across the borough, with the aim of inspiring the next generation of Saddlers supporters.
The scheme will see over 150 shirts given away over the course of the season, with 20 presented to reception children in Clarke and Kanu’s visit. The recipients were selected by the school in recognition of their hard work across the academic year, earning them special acknowledgement from Walsall FC Foundation.
NoFo Co-Founders Bryan and Shannon Miles also saw the Our Town Our Top project in action during their recent trip to the UK, taking in Walsall FC’s match against Accrington Stanley, where a number of deserving young people were also awarded with a Foundation home shirt.
Kanu, the Foundation’s Education Ambassador for the 2025/26 season, said: “I really enjoyed the school visit. We were able to give them a slightly different experience than the usual schedule. It was great to be able to talk to them and encourage them as we know everyone loves football. To see the smiles on their faces and that excitement, it makes all these things worthwhile. It’s good to have us here in person as people they can look up to.”
Following the presentation, the players were led classroom to classroom, giving more children within the school a chance to meet the pair, and letting them ask a range of thoughtful questions. These interactions helped highlight the dedication, discipline and hard work required to succeed as a professional athlete.
Clarke added: “I actually really loved it, seeing everyone smiling and enjoying themselves. It’s good if I can make a difference to their lives, and hopefully we can inspire them.”
Lee Kilkenny, Headteacher at Whitehall spoke following the visit: “I think it’s really important and puts the football club back in the community. Lots of our children really want to play football when they’re older and seeing some of their role models, particularly from a diverse community, is really important. It means a lot to us.
“Having the Foundation in school each week is a really positive thing because more and more children can associate with the badge, get involved in sport, and work with the coaches. As a school this gives us opportunities to look at lots of things sports-wise, whether it’s football, or cricket we’re doing at the moment, improving hand-eye coordination, it’s really good for the children.”
