Paisley welcomes McDonald’s commitment to grassroots football

Photographed in the Sport's Hut, Cullybackey on Saturday morning with the Ballymena United Youth Academy lads and officals was Ian Paisley (Jr) MLA. INBT 08-805H

McDonald’s has a long standing commitment to grassroots football, having been the Community Partner of the Irish FA since 2002.

This partnership is delivering a lasting legacy for grassroots football through McDonald’s KickStart funding, ongoing coach creation and education, a Club Accreditation Scheme and its regional Small Sided Games Centres – all contributing to ‘Better Play for Kids’.

Commenting on his visit the North Antrim MP said: “Projects like this contribute a huge amount to smaller nations such as Northern Ireland and we cannot thank McDonalds enough for their continued support of the local game.

“The Irish FA has also worked tirelessly to put the mechanisms in place for our local clubs to utilise all the services that the project has to offer.

“Between the two organisations, grassroots football has benefited from new coaches being created and educated, all contributing to the ‘Better Play for Kids’ mission of developing the local game for over a decade. I was honoured to be asked to attend the event and see first hand how well this partnership works.

“I hope the programme continues for many years to come as football in Northern Ireland from the ground up has made such significant gains with the aid of the Irish FA and McDonalds.”

McDonald’s Ballymena Franchisee Des Lamph commented: “At McDonald’s Ballymena we have a long standing commitment to serving the community in which we operate and to providing a safe environment for football that is both fun and inclusive.

“I’m delighted that Ian Paisley Junior MP has paid us a visit to see how the McDonald’s Irish FA partnership is delivering for local children in his constituency.”

Local Irish FA Grassroots Development Officer Wesley Gregg added: “I’d like to thank Ian Paisley Junior MP for taking time out of his busy schedule.

“I know the children were delighted to meet him and his attendance is a glowing endorsement of the programme we are delivering with McDonald’s.”

The McDonald’s Irish FA Community Awards also build on the continued commitment of McDonald’s to improve standards of community football and to increase participation across all aspects of the game. Nominations are currently open at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/KickStart or www.irishfa.com/communityawards and people are encouraged to follow the McDonald’s Irish FA Community Awards on twitter @2014Grassroots.