Jean has also been awarded an
ArtFund_ Jonathan Ruffer Curatorial grant to collect contemporary items on behalf of the National Football Museum which opened its doors in Preston in 2001 and moved its galleries to Manchester in 2012.
The museum collections focus on the social history aspects of the ‘People’s Game’ and its influence on all sections of society from origins and early beginnings to global popularity.
The England women’s team are currently favoured by bookmakers to win the tournament in 2023, having won the Euros in 2022, and also defeating world champions, the USA. But of course, Australia and Sam Kerr were recently victorious. So this is an historic occasion for English women’s football on a global stage, and Prof Jean Williams and Dr Jacqui McAssey will collect mixed media, (printed ephemera, toys, items of fan celebration including clothing, flags, dolls, and soundscape items such as small musical instruments, food and drink related items such as branded cups, and wrappers and other portable goods).
Jean Williams has already donated her collection of items to the NFM, going back to her own contemporary collections of 25 years since Los Angeles 1999 and more historic documents she was given, going back to the 1890s.
