After more than two decades of supporting grassroots football across the UK, McDonald’s Fun Football today announces its commitment to the next four years of investment in the game, taking its journey to up to 28 years of supporting football and community sport by 2028.
Since the early days, millions of children have been given opportunities to play, while grassroots clubs, coaches and communities have benefited from investment, equipment, coaching and participation programmes. At the heart of Fun Football is exactly what the name suggests: fun. For many children, it will be their first experience of the game, so sessions are designed to be enjoyable, welcoming and full of opportunities to play, laugh and build confidence.
Over that time, Fun Football has evolved into a major participation platform, helping make that first step into football as easy and accessible as possible. Now, McDonald’s Fun Football is looking ahead.
Over the next four years, its grassroots commitments, with the help of its partners, will focus on creating more opportunities for children to play, removing barriers to participation, supporting grassroots coaches and volunteers and helping make football a more inclusive game for everyone.
This work will be delivered alongside McDonald’s Fun Football partners including British Blind Sport, UK Deaf Sport, Access Sport, the Football Association of Wales, the Irish Football Association and the Scottish Football Association, helping ensure opportunities reach children and communities across the UK.
At the heart of the commitment is a simple belief: football should be accessible to every child, regardless of experience, background or ability.
The next chapter will build on the programme’s established approach of providing free football opportunities, with a targeted focus on “providing football where is it needed the most”. This means working with partners and communities to provide free opportunities in some of the most deprived communities across the UK, helping to remove financial and geographical barriers to participation.
And at a time when many families are facing continued cost-of-living pressures and local services are under increasing pressure, the commitment to making all Fun Football provision free of charge is more important than ever.
The next four years will build on that momentum, expanding access while ensuring that opportunities reach the communities and children who can benefit from them most.
Inclusion will be a particular area of focus, with the programme set to deliver a 235% uplift in Additional Needs and Inclusion sessions from where they currently stand, over the next four years. This significant expansion will create more opportunities for children with additional needs to experience the benefits of football in welcoming and supportive environments.
The long-standing relationship with grassroots football has helped support thousands of clubs and projects, train coaches and provide opportunities for children to participate. With millions of hours of free football provided across the last 4 years and significant support reaching clubs and coaches; McDonald’s Fun Football believes the strongest legacy is not measured by what has already been achieved. It is measured by what comes next.
The next four years will therefore be about more than delivering free football sessions. They will be about building a grassroots game that is stronger, more inclusive and more accessible for the future.
From the child experiencing football for the first time, to the coach taking their first qualification, to the volunteer helping their local club thrive, the ambition is to support the people and communities that make grassroots football possible.
Andrew Moys, McDonald’s Vice President Impact said: “For more than 20 years, we’ve been incredibly proud to stand alongside the grassroots football community. We’ve seen the difference football can make to children, families and communities, and we know how important it is to keep creating opportunities for people to get involved. Our next four years are about building on that legacy – not simply celebrating what we’ve achieved but using what we’ve learned to make an even greater difference.”
“We want more children to have the chance to discover football, more communities to feel included and more of the people behind the grassroots game to feel supported. Because the legacy we care about most is the one we leave for the next generation.”
The four-year commitment marks the beginning of the next chapter in Fun Football’s grassroots story, with a continued ambition to ensure that football remains a game that welcomes everyone.
For further information on McDonald’s involvement in grassroots football and to find a Fun Football session, visit McDonald’s Fun Football or follow @FunFootballUK on social media.
-ENDS-
For more information contact:
The McDonald’s Sport Press Office
+44 (0) 20 7025 6697 / mcdonaldssportsteam@redconsultancy.com
About Access Sport
Access Sport is a national charity with a vision that no one should be excluded from the transformational benefits of community sport. Their mission is to make inclusion the norm by tackling the access barriers faced by disadvantaged and disabled young people. They do this by training, equipping, and supporting community sports clubs, organisations, and volunteers to provide inclusive programmes, unleashing the potential to transform the lives of underserved young people in their local communities. To find out more, visit: www.AccessSport.org.uk
About British Blind Sport
British Blind Sport (BBS) is the only national sports charity for blind and partially sighted people in the UK. For over 50 years, BBS has worked to make sport and physical activity accessible and inclusive for people with a visual impairment, breaking down barriers and creating opportunities for people of all ages to participate.
BBS champions inclusion across the sport and physical activity sector. Its mission is to ensure that blind and partially sighted people of all ages can experience the physical, mental and social benefits of being active and enjoy equal opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity.
Through initiatives and projects such as Fun Football for blind and partially sighted children, VI Active Together, Have a Go Days and the BBS Junior Swim Festival, BBS creates opportunities for people with sight loss to discover new activities, build confidence and develop a lifelong enjoyment of sport and physical activity. The charity also works with coaches, teachers, leisure providers and clubs to educate and strengthen workforce knowledge of sight loss, helping to create more inclusive sporting environments across the UK
Football Wales of Association (FAW)
The FAW is the third oldest association in the world, having come into existence in 1876. The association has governed football in Wales continually since that date and has a duty to protect, promote and develop football in Wales.
‘Gorau Chwarae Cyd Chwarae’ (best play is team play) is the inspirational motto of the FAW. Team play is the driving force at the heart of Welsh Football and connects all those involved in football in Wales, it unites Welsh players, volunteers, coaches, supporters under a single banner.
About the Irish Football Association
The Irish Football Association was founded in 1880 and is the fourth oldest governing body in the world. It is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to promote foster and develop football for all across Northern Ireland. The headquarters is based at The Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast.
About Kick it Out
Kick It Out is football’s leading anti-discrimination charity, established in 1993 to fight racism and then expanded into tackling all forms of discrimination in 1997. Our mission is to unite football to make it more welcoming for everyone, to ensure that everyone is represented on the pitch and or in leadership roles, and that everyone stands up to discrimination when they see it or hear it. media@kickitout.org / www.kickitout.org
About UK Deaf Sport
UK Deaf Sport (UKDS) is the leading national charity that aims to get more deaf people participating in sport and physical activity from grassroots to elite level. In addition we are the National Governing Body for deaf sport in the UK.
