ENGLAND CAPTAINS HARRY KANE AND LEAH WILLIAMSON RESPOND TO NEW MURAL CREATED TO INSPIRE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS

England football team captains Harry Kane and Leah Williamson have joined forces to unveil a striking new mural featuring themselves at top London interactive football and dining venue TOCA Social at The O2 in Greenwich.

Created by a team of British artists from street art collective, MurWalls, the graffiti-style mural features both Kane and Williamson in various poses showing different faces of the two players, from celebrations to determination. Standing at over 12ft tall and 50ft wide, the artwork was hand painted and took the team of seven designers and artists three days to complete.

At an unveiling ceremony held today, Kane and Williamson helped to put finishing touches on the motivational artwork, as quotes from them both were added to the painting along with text displaying the top traits of a good captain, according to a survey of British football fans carried out by TOCA Social. It is hoped that young football fans visiting the venue to see the mural will be inspired to have a go at following in their footsteps.

Speaking as the Three Lions prepare to travel to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, Harry Kane said: “It’s a real honour to feature in such a unique piece of artwork at TOCA Social and I really hope it inspires people and leaves them feeling motivated to follow their dreams and have a go at playing TOCA or a game of football outdoors, and perhaps going all the way to the top.”

England captain Leah Williamson who led her side to their first ever European title this July, added: “I’d like to thank MurWalls, TOCA Social and everyone involved for making this mural happen.

“Leading by example and being a communicator are just a few of the elements needed to be a good leader, and I hope this sends a message to young players that anything is possible.”

TOCA Social – which recently announced Harry Kane as an investor in the business – today also launched its bid to be one of the top places for watching the World Cup and other landmark tournaments by announcing details of how the venue will be transformed into every football fan’s paradise with private booths to watch matches and delicious food and drink from its Americana menu. Bookings can be made now at www.toca.social.

The unveiling of the mural today comes on the back of new research conducted by TOCA Social which uncovered the essential qualities of a captain – with being a good communicator coming top (61 percent), followed by the ability to lead by example (60 percent) and mental strength (55 percent). Calmness under pressure (50 percent), wisdom (45 percent) and honesty (43 percent) were also considered crucial according to the survey of 2,000 football fans.

In terms of what a captain should bring to the team, 75 percent said that they should set an example. 60 percent said they should be someone to turn to when the going gets tough and 46 percent said they had to have tactical know-how. The study also revealed the role of the captain is of huge importance, with 82 percent of fans believing that they can win a game with their attitude alone.

And when it comes to the current England skipper one in two people think Harry Kane should be knighted if England do triumph at the World Cup, which begins next month in Qatar. In fact, 87 percent of the football mad Brits believe captain Leah Williamson and her Lionesses’ Euros victory is the nation’s greatest footballing success since 1966.

Harry Kane quotes

Why is TOCA Social such a good place to watch the World Cup?
H: “Yeah I think TOCA Social is a really great venue to come and watch the world cup, you know you can hire out a box, you can come with your friends, you can play football whilst watching football and it’s a great social place to be and obviously we all know how much the country are getting behind us for the world cup and to be here all together, yeah it would be a really great place to do it”.

What traits do you have that make you a good captain?
H: “I think a good captain, well myself personally, I like to lead by example, I think that’s the biggest trait of mine, and yeah setting good examples for the players around me, for the staff, for the young players coming through. I think yeah, getting to know people not just on the pitch but on a personal level is really important, getting to know what makes players tick and get the best out of them and that’s something I’ve learnt as I’ve has experience with it, and I will continue to do that as I get older as well”.

You are on the verge of becoming England’s all-time top scorer, how does that feel?
H: “Yeah, it’s exciting, trying not to think about it too much, you know I try and just let the football do the talking and of course I know that I’m close to achieving that and it will be an incredible proud moment if I do and hopefully it can be in the World Cup, there will be no greater place to do it. To be England’s all time highest goal scorer would be an incredibly proud moment for me and yeah I know I’m close I try not to think about it too much but of course with the world cup coming up this winter it would be an amazing place to go and achieve that so I’m sure when it comes around I’ll be ready to go this winter and yeah it will be extremely pleasing”.