Kerry Evans discovered her purpose working at Wrexham AFC. Here, she chats about the club's Hollywood owners, transforming accessibility at its stadium and how she ensures football is truly inclusive for everyone.
Meeting Hollywood stars wasn't in the job description for Wrexham AFC's Disability Liaison Officer. But then again, Kerry Evans never expected the football club to be taken over by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The club's fairytale rise from National League to the Championship has achieved worldwide fame in hit documentary series Welcome to Wrexham on Disney+, and one of its most powerful success stories belongs to Kerry, whose determined efforts have revolutionised accessibility for disabled fans.
Kerry, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 18 months old, suffered a cerebral bleed that left her paralysed down her right side aged 30 in September 2005, changing the course of her life. "I had no symptoms, and then I collapsed," she recalls.
Tests revealed that areas of her brain had been irreversibly damaged and she wouldn't walk again. "That shattered our lives," she says. "We'd only been married three years, we both worked full time and my daughter was only seven.
I had picked her up on the Friday, standing with all the other mums, and by the following week she was telling people her mum would never walk again."
