National Girls Football Festival at Wembley

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Girls representing Football League clubs will take part in the National Girls Football Festival at Wembley tomorrow.

ffd4-4x3549-1961086_478x359The festival will be held at Powerleague Wembley in the shadow of the national stadium ahead of the Women’s FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Notts County.

A number of the competing sides – including Brighton & Hove Albion, Preston North End and Brentford – are part of the Female Football Development (FFD) scheme which aims to increase participation among women and girls at the grassroots.

FFD is delivered by the Football League Trust and has helped thousands of people get into the game, strengthening the bond between the top level of the women’s game and the communities in which clubs are based.

The tournament at Wembley this weekend will be contested by more than 200 girls from 20 teams playing five-a-side matches. Groups of five will be contested before the top sides move on to the knockout stage.

The teams taking part in the competition are as follows:

Group A

Chelsea

Everton

Leyton Orient

Preston North End

Sheffield Wednesday

Group B

Arsenal

Brighton Hove Albion

Derby County

Fulham FC

Morecambe FC

Group C

Aldershot Town

Blackpool

Luton Town

Tottenham Hotspur

West Brom

Group D

Brentford FC

Hartlepool United

Leicester City

Manchester City

QPR

Football clubs jump for joy as Kinder + Sport Programme gets over 41,000 children active in the UK and Ireland

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Football clubs across country are joining together to celebrate the success of the Kinder + Sport programme, a national initiative delivered by Ferrero and The Football League Trust.

The programme is designed to get children active, promote nutritional education and build awareness of the importanceScreen Shot 2015-08-26 at 14.28.16 of a balanced diet and active lifestyle.  Since the start of the school year, football clubs throughout the UK have been teaming up with primary schools in their area to deliver the + Sport Move and Learn Project to 9-10 year olds, with each session combining 45 minutes of classroom based learning and 45 minutes of physical activity over a 6 week period. The project will reach more than 21,000 children over the 2014/15 school year. To support the programme, club players have acted as ambassadors and participating schools have had the chance to meet players and be involved in match day activities such as half time penalty shoot outs. 

Alongside this, Ferrero has partnered with The Football League as the official sponsor of the Kinder + Sport Kids’ Cup and Kinder + Sport Girls’ Cup, national tournaments for junior footballers across the country which have got a further 20,000 children active and recently culminated in exciting finals at Wembley stadium.

The celebration of a successful year for Kinder + Sport in the UK  is marked by the unveiling of the Kinder + Sport Jump for Joy project, created to encourage children and adults to experience the “Joy of Moving” by capturing their very own jump for joy. 

Players, mascots, fans and children from Kinder + Sport clubs across the UK have been sharing pictures of their jumps, which have all now been combined together into a mosaic of images in the shape of the Kinder + Sport logo.  The mosaic is revealed today at the Kinder + Sport Pavilion at Expo in Milan as part of the celebrations for Expo UK National Day.

 The Jumps for Joy mosaic can be viewed online

Charlie Cayton, Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications at Ferrero, says: “Celebrating the joy of moving is at the very heart of the Kinder + Sport philosophy. That’s why, as this academic year draws to a close, we want to recognise the hard work and commitment of The Football League Trust and our partners and clubs across the UK and Ireland. Thanks to their dedication, the programme has reached over 41,000 children with over 190,000 hours of activity delivered. We look forward to continuing to work with them and to growing the programme by bringing more clubs on board at the start of the new school year in September.”

Mike Evans, General Manager of The Football League Trust, adds: “We have been working with Ferrero for almost 2 years now to inspire children to lead active lifestyles through the Kinder + Sport programme. We have been overwhelmed by the positive response we have had from the clubs, schools and kids themselves to the initiative. We see it as vitally important that companies such as Ferrero value the health and wellbeing of our future generations, and we’re delighted to be building on the initial success of the project and to continue to grow it next year.”

Notes to editors – About the Kinder + Sport Move and Learn Project

designed to get children active, promote nutritional education and build awareness of the importance of a balanced diet and active lifestyle.

The + Sport Move and Learn Project is a national, school-based, educational programme for children aged 9-10, delivered through football clubs across the UK and Ireland.  Over the course of six 90 minute weekly sessions, children will learn about the body, nutrition, the importance of exercise and food groups and take part in a practical session of football, handball and dodgeball. The content has been developed by nutritional, educational and sporting experts in line with the Government’s Eatwell plate and the National Curriculum for PSHE and Science.

The + Sport Move and Learn Project is delivered in schools across the country in partnership with the Community Trusts of several top football clubs across the UK and The Republic of Ireland. These include Watford FC; Blackburn Rovers; Coventry City; Charlton Athletic; Derby County; Middlesbrough FC; Sheffield United; and Plymouth Argyle.  In Scotland the programme is run in partnership with the Scottish Professional Football League Trust and Rangers and Celtic. The Football Association Ireland has also launched a pilot programme in the Cork area where Ferrero is a major employer, producing 40% of the world’s supply of tic tacs at its Cork factory.

Blackburn Rovers crowned Kinder+Sport Championship Kids Cup winners

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Blackburn Rovers lifted the Kinder+Sport Championship Kids Cup after a 3-2 penalty shoot-out victory over AFC Bournemouth at Wembley Stadium.

Oliver Rawson struck the winning spot-kick for Rovers, who were represented by Salesbury C of E Primary School, after a tense goalless draw.

Despite the lack of goals, both teams had chances during the allotted 14 minutes of play.

Rovers’ Daniel Rawson blazed the best opportunity of the match over the bar when one-on-one with Bournemouth stopper Sam Bradbury, while Ryan Finnigan fired wide for the Cherries after creating a chance for himself in the second period.

Both teams performed admirably but it had to be settled by penalties. The first four spot-kicks were immaculately tucked away, then Liam Finnigan was unlucky to see his effort come back off the post, allowing Rawson to find the top corner for glory.

After lifting the Championship Kids Cup trophy, Rawson said: “It’s a great feeling to score a penalty at Wembley and know that you’re the best Championship side in England at this level.  

“All my family and friends were in the crowd and it was great having them all here. It was brilliant to be out on the pitch and experience the atmosphere.”

Teacher Stephen Bird, who accompanied the Salesbury C of E Primary School students at the national stadium, said: “I’m immensely proud of them all.

“It’s been a great season that’s contained its ups and downs and I’m really impressed with all of the boys.

“They had nerves of steel in the penalty shoot-out – they never gave up.”

The 2015 Kinder+Sport Kids Cup has seen over 16,700 children take part in the nationwide competition which is an increase of more than 1,000 from previous years. The competition, for children under the age of 11, culminates in a final at Wembley before the Sky Bet Football League Play-Off Finals this Bank Holiday Weekend.

The Kids Cup falls under the Kinder+Sport Project, which is a key part of Ferrero’s global CSR activity and in the UK sees Ferrero partner with The Football League Trust to increase the levels of physical activity, promote nutritional education and build awareness of the importance of a balanced diet and active lifestyle amongst children.

In the UK Ferrero also support the + Sport Move and Learn Project which is a schools-based programme targeting nine to 10-year-olds. It sets out to move over 21,000 children and deliver over 190,000 hours of activity and education over the 2014/15 school year across the UK and Ireland.

Blackburn Rovers (represented by Salesbury C of E Primary School): Jacob Mithoo (GK), Conner Eccleston (Capt), Lanre Okeweusi, Adam Wharton, Ishan Goshawk, Daniel Rawson, Jack Wilson, Oliver Rawson.

AFC Bournemouth (represented St James C of E Primary School): Sam Bradbury (GK), Ryan Finnigan (Capt), Conner Moore, Tommy Gwynfryn-Evans, Monty Moberly, Jamie Drake, Liam Finnigan, Ethan Quarchioni.

Image by: Scott Heavey/EMPICS Sport