Anyone who reads my blog will know how much my boys love football. My husband coaches and runs a club and the boys play and watch. I’d go as far as to say our lives revolve around it. It is great for kids to get active and get outside, but one person who hasn’t got the football bug is Aria. When we heard about this great initiative from McDonald’s, who are running Fun Football sessions with the Scottish FA (SFA), we knew this was the perfect opportunity to let her try it out. Anything that gets kids active and away from screens for a bit is a great idea.
When we went along, we found out a lot of information about the McDonald’s Fun Football sessions and also the SFA Motherwell Community Trust, who run the sessions local to us. The session was an hour and a half long and started off by doing a warm-up for all kids. The sessions are aimed at kids of all abilities and gender from 5-11, so it was great that Aria could do it alongside her brother. She learned to warm up properly with some fun exercises and stretches and lots of running about.
It is always a challenge as a parent to find activities that aren’t overly expensive, especially when you have a few children. These sessions are cheap, and encourage friendship, sportsmanship and exercise, all while having fun. Here is Aria learning some ball control and dribbling around the cones. She had a big beaming smile the whole time.
Tyler also took part, and whilst the sessions are aimed at getting into football for the first time, he was still able to put the skills he’s learnt from training for his club to practice.
Such a good way to get kids outdoors, active and learning a healthy lifestyle. I couldn’t recommend the one we attended in Motherwell enough. Motherwell Community Trust even includes a fantastic initiative for 365 kids where they give kids who get free school meals here in Scotland, they get a warm meal and some time playing football. What these coaches give back to the local community really is incredible and heartwarming to see.
Although Tyler already plays football, he loved the chance to play with a mixed age range. The coaches were great with him and he had the best time joining in with the games.
As Aria hasn’t played football before, she played a game at the end with the other kids new to football where they played four games against each other, to see who could score as many goals. It was interesting to watch her play, she’s at the stage along with the other little kids where they just love to chase the ball. She was delighted when her team won!
The best thing about the McDonald’s Fun Football is that all kids these sessions are geared towards the kids having fun playing football, no matter what their experience is. They cover everything from warm-up, to basic skills to just having fun. They both loved it and both kids would love to go back.
These sessions are open to all kids between 5-11, regardless of gender. It is a great way to encourage an active lifestyle and instilling a lifelong love for the nation’s and our favourite sport.
I think you can tell by the smile on her face that she loved it. I never thought I’d see the day when she played football other than with her brothers in a kick around as she was adamant she wouldn’t, but here we go, a wee footballer in the making to join her cousin.
Did you know that McDonald’s have supported grassroots football for a whopping 17 years? Such a great way to give back to the community I feel. They have been partners with the four home nation FAs, including the Scottish FA, and their new deal will see them provide 5 million hours of football to children aged 5-11 up and down the country for free by 2022. How great is that? Meaning that over 500,000 children will get a chance to try football out through their “turn up and play” coaching sessions. I think that is incredible.
Every kid should give this a go. They won’t regret it, sign them up now by visiting mcdonalds.co.uk/funfootball to find your nearest session and register online.
I’d love to know about your experience with Fun Football. Has your kid given it a go? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Disclaimer:- This post was written in conjunction with McDonald’s, but all thoughts and words are my own. We are huge football fans and I think it’s great for kids to give it a go.
My son plays football with his friends at playtime but doesn’t play anywhere else. He had tried a few different football camps but he didn’t like it. He just likes to play for fun without all the serious side to it. You never know if you like it until you try it. It’s great that MacDonalds are helping towards a sport.
These are really good, fun and no pressure I think it’s a good way to get them into it or just to try out x