The Books Council of Wales has been awarded funding to deliver free football-themed books to libraries across Wales, to bring the magic of football to readers and celebrate the Welsh team’s achievements.

Chief Executive of the Books Council, Helgard Krause, said: “We are delighted to be part of this exciting programme and to use the passion and celebration of Wales’ achievement in the World Cup to ignite a love of reading in young people and help them improve their literacy skills.

Both reading and physical activity have a huge role to play in our health and well-being and Sporting Stories brings both elements together. Whether it’s helping a football fan to discover books they’ll love or providing some footballing inspiration to encourage participation in football, games and sport, children and young people will be able to choose from a wide selection of football-themed books to enjoy during the World Cup and celebrate Wales’ place in the tournament.”

The Books Council’s Sporting Stories project will provide a selection of recent football-themed books, in both Welsh and English, to local authority libraries across Wales – they include a wide range of titles for all reading abilities, from Foundation Phase to adult readers. More information will be available on the Books Council’s website.

Why not encourage the children to call into their local library to access these football-themed titles?