Football fever comes to Birmingham as hundreds descend on Central England Co-op store for glimpse of the Premier League Trophy

Posted by james brindle | Published: 13/12/2019


An appearance by the official Premier League trophy has seen hundreds of football fans descend on an Erdington supermarket to catch a glimpse of the iconic piece of silverware.

Central England Co-operative joined forces with the Official Snack Partner of the Premier League Cadbury to give the local community an opportunity to see the trophy as it hosted the event at its Erdington Supermarket in High Street.

Children from nearby Featherstone Primary School were given the opportunity to view the trophy before anyone else, before cutting the ribbon to get the event under way and let the local community see the much-coveted prize and have their photos taken with it.

Erdington Store Manager Gary Brooks said: “It was absolutely fantastic to be able to give our community in Erdington the opportunity to come and see the Premier League trophy and I would like to thank Cadbury for helping to make this happen.

“We pride ourselves on being a true community store and it was wonderful to see so many happy, smiley faces enjoying the day and particularly being able to give the children at Featherstone Primary School the chance to have the first glimpse and cut the ribbon was great.

“I hope everyone who came along had a really memorable experience and hopefully it’s not too long before the trophy is actually lifted by a team in the Midlands!”

Charlotte Hughes, from Featherstone Primary School, said the children who were invited along to the event had an ‘unforgettable day’.

She said: “We were really excited to be invited by Central England Co-op to bring a group down to the event today and give the children the opportunity to have their photo taken with the trophy.

“Many of the children are absolutely football-mad and they were so thrilled to get to see the trophy up close and I’m sure it is a day they won’t forgot.”

Among those had their photo taken with the trophy was Birmingham City fan Andrew Johnson, from Erdington.

He said: “It was a nice surprise to see it. I came in to get a lottery ticket and I’ve hit the jackpot already getting to see the trophy!”

Mary Conyard, from Erdington, was excited to get a photo with the trophy to send to her Aston Villa fan son, who is now living in New Zealand.

She said: “It is lovely to have something like this here in Birmingham, it is nice for the community and a real boost. I will send the photo of me with the trophy to my son in New Zealand – he will have a big shock when he sees it!”

Sandra Lee, also from Erdington, added: “It is fantastic to see the trophy and so nice for the community. My husband and I both had our photos taken with it – it’s not everyday you get a chance like this.”

As part of the event, Central England Co-op customers and members had the opportunity to enter a free prize draw to win an official Premier League football shirt of their choice.

To be in with a chance to win visit www.centralengland.coop/football. Terms and conditions apply and can be found on the website. The competition runs from December 13 to 20 and entrants must be able to collect the prize from the store.

 

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. 

It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, and property investment.

Central England Co-operative has over 400 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2019.

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390

Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop