Swansea City rename stand after NHS heroes
Swansea City has unveiled a new name for one of the Liberty Stadium's stands, honouring health professionals and key workers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.
The family stand in the stadium will now be known as the NHS Wales Stand for the upcoming 2020/21 season.
The club also plans to brand the stand with the NHS Wales logo and the rainbow emblem which became a symbol of hope for many throughout the pandemic.
Jason Hughes, the operations manager and lead critical care practitioner for EMRTS Air Ambulance, and Alicia Powe, Swansea City Ladies captain and full-time staff nurse at Morriston Hospital, were invited to the Liberty to mark the occasion of the renaming.
During the coronavirus pandemic the Liberty Stadium was used to train NHS staff, and a drive-in testing centre was established in the north car park.
When the football season resumed earlier this year, Swansea were granted special permission to add the NHS Wales logo onto players’ shorts, whilst an applause took place before every fixture.
Speaking about the tribute to the key workers, Rebecca Edwards-Symmons said that she hoped the renaming of the stand would help show the club's gratitude to the sector.
“We felt it was important that we recognised the amazing efforts of our NHS workers in Wales and renaming the stand will reflect the gratitude of everyone associated with the club,” she said.
“We sadly lost one of our matchday paramedics Gerallt Davies to Covid-19, as well as many supporters, but have no doubt our amazing NHS has saved and protected many more.”
Swansea City started their Championship campaign with a 1-0 victory over Preston at the weekend, they face Birmingham at home on Saturday.