Mcdonald’s Fun Football Kicks Off
England manager Gareth Southgate joined Manchester United Women’s manager Casey Stoney and celebrity dad Marvin Humes to launch the McDonald’s Fun Football programme in partnership with the four home nations Football Associations.
The trio oversaw a training day at the FA’s national training centre, St George’s Park, which showcased the drills that FA-qualified coaches will be delivering to children at each of the 150 Fun Football Centres involved in the initiative.
McDonald’s is encouraging parents throughout the UK to sign up for one of over 600 McDonald’s Fun Football sessions, which will give half a million children the chance to play football for the first time in 2019.
More than 12,000 spaces are available through the programme, which is aimed at getting 5-11 year olds to try football, regardless of gender or disability.
The curriculum includes introductory drills ideal for children with no footballing experience, helping them develop their all-round skills.
Fun Football is part of a new four-year partnership between McDonald’s and the Football Association, which together with the Northern Irish, Welsh and Scottish FAs, will collaborate with McDonald’s in providing over five million hours of football to primary school pupils by 2022.
Commenting on the initiative, Southgate said: “McDonald’s has played a pivotal role in supporting grassroots football for 17 years and Fun Football is another crucial step in continuing to make football accessible for young children.
“This is an exciting launch and I’m honoured to be a part of it. It’s really important that children all over the UK are given opportunities to play football so that we can continue to attract young, new players to the sport and get them enjoying the game.”
The St George’s Park event also saw the launch of a new FA SuperKicks app, created to support the McDonald’s initiative.
We are proud to introduce #FASuperKicks
A new and exciting app for children to develop their skills through 100s of great challenges!
iOS: https://t.co/RcnpCu8f7v
Amazon: https://t.co/mlJhc1VfoT pic.twitter.com/qEnmTfUjT3— St. George’s Park (@StGeorgesPark) March 28, 2019
The app, which can be downloaded via the iOS and Amazon app stores, includes more than 150 skills and drills.
It is aimed at enabling children aged five to eight and their parents to have a go at playing football anywhere – at home, in the garden or in the park and playground.
Each activity has an easy to follow video guide, with the star of the app called ‘Kicker‘ – a football shaped character – acting as the child’s coach and mentor, providing encouragement throughout the challenges.
Activities are across three levels of attainment and can also be played by one or two players for collective learning.
To encourage continual development in a fun environment, children’s participation will be recorded and rewarded with animated badges, with achievements unlocking customisable features and ‘Super Points’ earned for attempting selected challenges.
An accompanying Fun Football Activity Book will also be available, allowing participants to chart their progress with a series of stickers and creative games.
Paul Pomroy, McDonald’s CEO, UK and Ireland, commented: “We are incredibly grateful to Gareth for lending his support to our Fun Football programme today and I am delighted that the coaches had the chance to hear from our national manager.
“As a proud dad of two football mad children, I know how important it is to encourage a lifelong love of sport and an active lifestyle. Through our Fun Football programme we want to provide over 5 million hours of football for children, introducing more than half a million new players to the game by 2022. I hope the coaches have enjoyed today as much as I have!”
McDonald’s is a long-standing supporter of grassroots football in the UK, having worked with The FA community programmes for the past 17 years.
