Introducing Red Wall+

Guys, we’ve been sitting on this one for months. That’s part of the reason for the radio silence, but also, we’ve been really, really busy.

Red Wall+ is, we hope, the new home of Welsh football. Covering everything from elite level, right down to the grassroots.

It started out as an idea for a TV channel from the chief exec of the Football Association of Wales, Noel Mooney, and morphed into an on-demand streaming service offering everything from documentaries to grassroots club profiles, coaching masterclasses to music videos and more.

And, at EatSleep Media, we are very fortunate to have been trusted with the exciting task of curating and creating programmes for it.

While we’ve been discussing Red Wall+ (RW+) with the FAW for a while, we were only given the green light in August, giving us three months to come up with some content.

Thankfully, we have a really talented team of people, all of whom have completely bought into the project and worked their socks off to bring it home.

At launch, RW+ will have four brand new documentaries, four coaching masterclasses, six My Club profiles and some music videos.

Art of the Wales Shirt is an unashamed love letter to Welsh football kits - Photo: EatSleep Media

Among the documentaries is The Art of the Wales Shirt. This is something we have wanted to do for a while as we are massive Welsh football fans and love a Wales shirt.

To be able to explore the lineage of Wales kits, meet the people fortunate enough to have worn them and hear their experiences has been amazing.

In Robert Earnshaw, we found a former Wales international who was as excited about the project as we were and his enthusiasm and love for the game comes through in bucket loads.

The highlight of the programme is a visit to Adidas HQ in Germany, to meet the Welshman who designed the shirt the team will be wearing at the World Cup in Qatar.

Robert Earnshaw presents The Art of the Wales Shirt and looks really satisfied with it - Photo: EatSleep Media

It is fascinating stuff and the result is simply beautiful.

Another documentary looks at the origins of the Red Wall. From a handful of fans travelling around Europe in the 80s and 90s to the amazing scenes at Euro 2016 and beyond.

We talk to some of the old guard about their early experiences and uncover some astonishing Wales Away adventures.

And we consider how the Red Wall has evolved to be more diverse, more inclusive and all the richer and more vibrant for it.

Where RW+ differs from other streaming services like Netflix is that we can also broadcast live, which has given us the opportunity to experiment with a couple of new ideas to make RW+ more interactive and engaging with fans.

Rob Earnshaw (left) meets James Webb (right), the Adidas graphic design genius behind the new Wales shirt - Photo: EatSleep Media

The first is a brand new live show called Red Wall On Tour. This is a regular evening programme featuring special guests, comedians and music to really explore Welsh football and its culture.

Each episode will come from a different location in Wales and we’ll be developing the format as we go along to really tune in to what fans like and how they want to be involved.

The second live show we’ve developed is called Wales Away Live and the very first edition will be from Qatar at the World Cup.

Wales Away is a gorgeous, warm, friendly and passionate experience, and we wanted to bring that vibe back to Wales for those who can’t make it.

So expect fascinating guests and stories, bucket hats aplenty, music, culture and a load of laughs.

What the FAW have commissioned with Red Wall+ is truly groundbreaking. A multi-faceted live streaming service offering a broad range of content which will grow and evolve over time.

At EatSleep Media, we have always thought Welsh football was underserved with so many wonderful stories missed by the mainstream media.

This is not their fault. There is only a finite amount of time and resources available to cover so many things. And when your remit is as broad as BBC Wales, S4C or ITV Wales, difficult choices have to be made.

Red Wall+ is able to focus on just one thing, Welsh football.

Fortunately, there is a lot of Welsh football to focus on.

For the time being RW+ will exist as a website, but it will soon also be an app on your mobile devices.

It is the culmination of everything we have learned and developed at EatSleep Media in our partnership with the Football Association of Wales.

It really is a world first. No other FA on the planet has been bold enough to go this hard at their own streaming platform.

The content we present at launch is just the first phase with another another already planned for early next year and more phases to come.

At launch, the service is free to all. You need only sign up for an account at www.redwallplus.wales This offer will run until March 2023.