Dale shirts presented to local government officials in Tokyo...
John Rooney, Assistant Director at Rochdale Borough Council, recently returned from a study tour in Japan, which was funded by himself and the Japan Local Government Centre.
The tour focussed on the role of national, regional and local government in Japan, and the recovery and regeneration work that has taken place since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami which devastated large areas of north eastern Japan.
Rochdale AFC kindly donated four shirts from last season which Mr Rooney presented to local government officials in Tokyo and Miyagi Prefecture (on the North East coast), including the Vice Governor of Miyagi and the Mayor of Onagawa.
Mr Rooney commented, “It was an incredible learning experience and good to understand the challenges that the local people have faced.
“The Rochdale shirts went down really well with all the officials and there are now definitely a few more Dale fans in Japan.
“The Mayor of Onagawa, Mr Suda is a real hero, who is leading the recovery of his town which was destroyed in 2011, so he truly deserved the Number 1 shirt.”