Aston Villa v Cardiff: Peter Whittingham’s family in talks over building statue
Peter Whittingham will be at the forefront of supporters’ minds tonight when Cardiff City take on Aston Villa in the FA Cup
Tonight’s FA Cup fixture between Aston Villa and Cardiff at Villa Park will be very special for one family
Two clubs that have served to shape the Whittingham family, Cardiff City and Villa, come together in the fifth round of this prestigious competition, with a place in the quarterfinal on the line.
Villa was the club that reared one fine talent in Peter Whittingham, and Cardiff, for whom he went on to become a bona fide legend, will be forever grateful they did.
It’s almost half a decade since Peter left us, and, as his brother James says, time really does fly.
But Friday night will quite rightly be all about Peter, from two fan bases who continue to adore him and all that he did for them.
“It’s especially strange with it being five years since his passing,” James tells WalesOnline. “It’s a bit weird, but it should be a good match on Friday night.
“I’ll be there, and the family will be there. I wasn’t really planning on it, to be honest with you, and then Villa’s 1897 Group reached out, and they raised some money and got a flag of him, so Villa ended up inviting us. So there will be family there.
“It will be nice for some of my nieces and nephews to go to something like that.”
Peter’s sons, whom he had with wife Amanda, are now dyed-in-the-wool Bluebirds supporters and they will also be at Villa Park. Will certainly has his father’s inclination for the game, too, as one anecdote including former City defender Tony Capaldi will attest. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
“They are growing up fast. Will is seven now, Seb is four; they are big boys now!” James continues.
“Will does some of this soccer school stuff, and Tony Capaldi takes some of those sessions—Tony was very good friends with Peter.
There was some joke about Will saying, ‘I’m going to go in goal’, and Tony said, ‘You are not going in goal!’
“He’s enjoying it. At that age, it’s all about enjoying it. I think sport is really important these days. One of the major criticisms of students these days is their perceived lack of resilience, and I believe sport is so excellent for that.
It teaches you to lose, teaches you to triumph. It’s just a really essential trait sport gives you these days.
“Will and Seb go to a number of Cardiff’s events. Will goes to every home game! He adores them—Cardiff and Real Madrid are his two teams, two clubs that go hand in hand!”
Quite excitingly, James says, the family have entered discussions with the club over the possibility and viability of erecting a statue of Peter at Cardiff City Stadium.
Whittingham’s memory remains immensely strong among those who were fortunate enough to see him wield his left-footed talisman in a Cardiff uniform and, for many, he will eternally be their favorite player. That’s some legacy.
And the institution has been proactive in remembering Peter. To their credit, which Omer Riza even alluded to in Thursday’s press conference, the club are very excellent at recalling their own.
From retiring Whitts’ emblematic No. 7 shirt to including him in every matchday program and designating the indoor school at the club’s luxurious new academy site in Llanrumney, the PW7 Indoor Arena.
Supporters will also be buoyed then to learn that the possibility of a permanent statue is presently on the table, even if it’s in its very early phases, and costs are most certainly a factor, with the bronze statue of FA Cup-winning captain Fred Keenor costing approximately £85,000 13 years ago.
“It’s in really early phases. A lot of it has been spurred on by the supporters because the fans speak about wishing to have something for him,” James added.
“The ground is extraordinary ground; there is the statue of Fred Keenor. It’s certainly early phases, but there is also definitely some interest, but these products are so expensive.
The last one Cardiff did, it took them three years to acquire the money, and prices will have gone up dramatically since then.
“After some deliberation with the club, the expense is probably going to be two or three times that now.
It’s in the very early embryonic phases, with some back and forth with the club, but it would have been great to have our ducks in a row and be able to initiate it (advance of the Villa game).
“One of the toughest things about all this material is, what would he have wanted? You know what he was like, he was never one for the accolades – so, statues? I’m not so positive! But it would be a lovely legacy, I think.”
The PW7 Foundation, which was set up in Peter’s memory, continues to develop and have an impact on three charities dear to the family’s affections.
Since its conception and launch advance of that match between Cardiff and Villa in 2022, while the divisions had broken up due to the World Cup in Qatar, PW7 has raised an extraordinary £150,000.
More than half of those funds came from that initial Peter Whittingham Memorial Match; the other half have been from donations, including £500 donated this month from Aston Villa’s 1897 Group.
They have split those funds equally between three charities: Cardiff City FC Community Foundation, Winston’s Wish, a bereavement support charity, and King Henry VIII School, Peter’s alma mater in Coventry.
Money raised for his school has also allowed the charity to fund a scholarship for talented sportsman Finley Allton, who is a gifted rugby player who was previously in the Wasps youth setup before moving to the prestigious Coventry Rugby Academy.
“It’s been bubbling over the last couple of years since the game (against Aston Villa in 2022), and some of the supporters’ groups and fans have been asking questions around it.
The club has been super supportive; just like that game against Villa in 2022, there were obviously a lot more people at that than at the funeral, so it was just a nice official way of doing it all,” James added.
“The Foundation is pressing on for raising £150,000 now, too, so it’s good that some good is coming from it.
“The idea of PW7 is that Peter benefitted from loads of things in his life, whether it be school or Cardiff City, and Amanda undoubtedly got a lot of support with Winston’s Wish, the child bereavement charity, so the idea was to give back to the places he benefitted from.
“One of those was education, so assisting kids who might otherwise not have been able to go to a place like that, who are talented on the sporting side, the bursary related to that is just a lovely addition.
“Cardiff City FC Community Foundation has also been wonderful; we’ve also been working with them.
The PW7 Indoor Arena (at the academy site) in Cardiff now, too; there has just been a lot of pleasant details from individuals that they didn’t have to do; we’ve been really taken away by it all.”
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