Maiden kicks off school football plan
Poster company Maiden Outdoor is on the look out for schools to give it space for poster sites in exchange for building a football practice wall.
The plan, in conjunction with Footwall UK, will involve an investment of about 5m by Maiden to build 1,000 walls and poster sites.
Garry Hartley, Maiden’s development director, denies the move encourages commercialisation of schools.
“This is not the first time schools have done deals with us,” he says. “Grant-maintained schools have in the past used the rental to pay for books or computers. In this case they get a free Footwall.”
Hartley says the posters must pass local planning regulations and need not be sited in the same place as the Footwall. “It could be on council-owned land elsewhere in the town. We are interested in sites that overlook an A-road.”
The scheme is also being promoted to youth clubs and local authority sports grounds. The practice wall has a pictorial goal and target, which is changed once a month.
Maiden will target the scheme in country towns and areas of the country where poster coverage is weak.
