Six hundred and seventy children from 12 East Renfrewshire primary schools have been having a ball at a series of Tesco Bank Football Festivals across the region this week.
The children have taken part in six weeks of introductory coaching sessions in their schools in recent months, and came together across Cowan Park in Barrhead, Crookfur Pavillion in Newton Mearns and Overlee Playing Fields in Clarkston for a grand finale of football and fun.
Schools taking part over the three days were: Springhill Primary School, St John’s Primary School, St Mark’s Primary School, Cross Arthurlie Primary School, Auchenback Primary School, Carlibar Primary School, Crookfur Primary School, Mearns Primary School, St Cadoc’s Primary School, Netherlee Primary School, Our lady of the Missions Primary School and St Joseph’s Primary School
The Tesco Bank Football Challenge is a four-year community programme run in partnership with the Scottish FA. The programme introduces football to Primary 2 and Primary 3 children (six – eight years old) at schools across Scotland and gets them engaged in a healthy and active lifestyle.
Over 15,000 children across Scotland have been involved in the programme in the last six months.
Scottish FA development officer John Gervaise, said:
“The Tesco Bank Football Challenge is a great initiative which is all about getting the young kids taking part and having fun. It is not only about learning basic football skills but also about getting children involved in physical activity and leading healthier, happier lives.”
St Cadoc’s Primary School pupil, Zoe Halpin, said:
“We’ve had so much fun today. We learned that you need to warm up properly before playing a game and to make sure we drink lots of water. The best part was playing the games though – there were hundreds of us and it was so much fun.”
Adele Mills, community investment manager at Tesco Bank, commented:
“Tesco Bank aims to make a positive contribution to the East Renfrewshire area both in the way we do business and by supporting community initiatives. Football is central to this programme, acting as a vehicle for fitness and the development of both physical and social skills.
“Our aim is to see hundreds of boys and girls from across the city participating in football on a regular basis and having fun. We hope our initiative gives the kids an experience that will stay with them for life and ultimately encourage regular involvement in the game.”
Tesco Bank is investing over £1 million in the programme and will use the power of football to get six to eight year-old children active. The aim is to reach 72,000 boys and girls of all levels and abilities in, at least, 1,600 primary schools across Scotland’s 32 local authorities with over 500,000 coaching hours.
ENDS
For media enquiries please contact:
Ross McDonald, Merchant Soul, Tel: 0141 280 4480 / 07944 465 979
Monica McCormack, Tesco Bank, Tel: 0131 479 1346
Notes for editors:
Tesco Bank Football Challenge
- This is the first community sponsorship deal signed by Tesco Bank and is the first of a number of community initiatives we hope to create in the coming years.
- The Tesco Bank Football Challenge sits at the first level of the Scottish FA’s Long Term Player Development Plan. It is designed to develop social skills, health and fitness, camaraderie, and general physical literacy. The aim at this level is that young players learn to love the game.
- It will be aimed initially at pupils at level P2 and P3 delivered by the Scottish FA’s Development Officers with ongoing teacher training to enable them to carry on with the programme long after the development officers have gone.
- The four-year Tesco Bank Football Challenge will culminate in a series of local, regional festivals with a national festival at Hampden.
- Meeting a fundamental need to provide young people at schools with a unique and worthwhile football experience which will stay with them for life and ultimately encourage more regular involvement in the game.
- This project will combine the objectives of government, local authorities, schools, teachers, active schools, Tesco Bank and Tesco stores.
Tesco Bank
- Tesco Bank is the UK’s largest supermarket bank. Since our launch in 1997, we have grown to have nearly six million customer accounts across 28 financial products and services.
- Our principal activities are: general insurance – motor, home, pet and travel; credit cards and personal loans; personal savings; Tesco Compare and a network of cash machines (ATMs).
- We sell our products through multiple channels including in-store, by telephone and online.
- Tesco Bank is fully owned by Tesco plc.
- Tesco Bank is the trading name of Tesco Personal Finance plc. Registered in Scotland No. 173199. Registered Address: Interpoint Building, 22 Haymarket Yards, Edinburgh, EH12 5BH
Tesco in the Community
- Over the last 18 years, we have donated approximately 3.5 million items of equipment worth around £165 million to over 40,000 schools and clubs in the UK.
- FA Tesco Skills has now given 1.4m 5-11s in England free coaching sessions in schools and in local communities.
Tesco in Scotland
- Tesco is Scotland’s largest private sector employer with over 26,000 staff working in 150 stores.
- We have opened a number of Regeneration Partnership stores in Scotland to revitalise disadvantaged areas, working in partnership with local agencies.
- Two million customers shop at Tesco every week in Scotland.
- We work with 150 Scottish suppliers, who provide our stores with over 1,500 products.
- We sell over £2bn of Scottish products in our stores across the UK each year.
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Contact: Ross McDonald
Phone: 07944 465 979
Email: r.mcdonald@merchantsoul.com
Website: http://www.merchantsoul.com
