McDonald’s Continues Grassroots Support

England and Arsenal Ladies defender, Casey Stoney visited players at Wincanton Town FC to visit McDonald’s Football Mum of the Year in 2015 and deliver a new football kit to the club’s under-12s.

Leah Poole was chosen as the winner of the first McDonald’s Football Mum of the Year from over 600 nominations. The award celebrates mums who put in hard work into the grassroots game, so that their children and friends can enjoy playing football.

In addition to visiting Leah to see her work, Casey delivered a new football kit to the Wincanton Town under-12s. The club ordered from the McDonald’s Kit Scheme which allows all accredited clubs throughout the UK to collect a new strip.

During her visit, Casey met with Leah and her team before hosting a training session where the McDonald’s head of girls and women’s football gave advice and participated in the official kit handover alongside local McDonald’s franchisee Tim Lamb.

Stoney, said: “Mums play a vital role in the world of grassroots football, often behind the scenes, offering hours of their already precious free time. Last year we were inundated with nominations for the award and we spent hours reading incredible stories about some truly inspirational mums. It was great to meet up with Leah again to see first-hand why she was so deserving of the award. Wincanton Town FC are lucky to have someone who is so passionate and inspirational volunteering for them. As a mum, I know the challenges involved in balancing family life with football, so we should be praising her amazing achievements.”

The former England captain, who has earned over 100 caps, added: “I have been lucky enough to wear some very special kits throughout my career and you notice players grow in confidence when they pull on a shirt that is special to them. I am sure that Wincanton Town FC will put their new kit to good use and it is brilliant for all of the kids to have such a great strip alongside a great coach in Leah.” 

Local McDonald’s franchisee, Tim Lamb, said: “This will be a day that players and parents alike won’t forget. To have someone of the calibre of Casey Stoney at the club is simply fantastic and seeing her train with the players was great. It is a great testament to Leah that she won a national award and you can see that it has given the club a real boost. The McDonald’s Kit scheme is something we are extremely proud of and it is a superb reward for grassroots clubs up and down the country.”

McDonald’s introduced the Kit Scheme two seasons ago and has since donated 100,000 kits since August 2014. Running for a total of four years, the scheme allows every accredited club throughout the UK to order a brand new team kit.