Ferrero is partnering with the Football League Trust to launch a national schools initiative to get children active and promote healthy lifestyles, as part of the global Kinder+Sport programme.
Ferrero and the Football League Trust are today announcing a partnership to deliver a national programme for schools to encourage children to take part in physical activity, build awareness of the importance of a healthy diet and adopt an active lifestyle.The initiative sets out to get over 21,000 children moving and deliver over 190,000 hours of activity and education over the 2014/15 school year across the UK and Ireland.
Alongside this, Ferrero is also partnering with the Football League as the official sponsor of the Kinder+Sport Kids’ Cup and Girls’ Cup, a national tournament for junior footballers across the country which will get over 20,000 children moving and active.
The two competitions, the Kids’ Cup and the Girls’ Cup, culminate in an exciting final at Wembley Stadium over the Championship Play-off weekend in front of thousands of fans. The competition inspires children to be active, healthy, and develop a strong sense of teamwork, making it a perfect fit for the Kinder+Sport programme.
The + Sport Move and Learn Project is part of Ferrero’s global Kinder+Sport initiative designed to encourage healthy and active lifestyles in children across the world. Targeted at primary school children aged between 9- 10 years, the programme combines six weeks of practical sporting sessions with classroom based sessions focused on diet, nutrition and the human body.
It will be delivered in schools across the country in partnership with the Community Trusts of several top football clubs across England and The Republic of Ireland.
These include Watford FC; Blackburn Rovers; Coventry City; Charlton Athletic; Derby County; Middlesbrough FC; Sheffield United; and Plymouth Argyle.
The Football Association Ireland will be launching a pilot programme in the Cork area where Ferrero is a large employer - producing 40% of the world’s supply of Tic Tacs out of their Cork factory.
The roll-out of the programme follows the enormous success of its pilot in 2013/2014 which was developed in partnership with Watford Football Club’s Community Sports and Education Trust. The pilot, which combined a schools based initiative with an out of school holiday camp programme, reached 1,860 children, and received outstanding feedback from teachers and parents.
A spokesperson from Ferrero said: “At Ferrero, we believe that active children are more likely to grow into active adults, and so we are passionate about inspiring future generations to embrace physical exercise, and gain a sense of joy from living an active and healthy life. 12 million children across the world have participated in the Kinder + Sport programme, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with the Football League Trust to bring the benefits of the programme to the UK.
"Football clubs are at the heart of their communities and have a remarkable ability to reach and engage with people. Therefore, working with football clubs across the countries, we know we can make a real difference in ensuring children understand the importance of adopting a healthy and balanced diet alongside regular physical activity.”
Mike Evans, General Manager of the Football League Trust said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Ferrero to deliver the + Sport Move and Learn project to children all over the country. We hope to be able to make a real difference in teaching children the importance of a healthy and balanced diet in an educational and fun format.
"We see it as vitally important that companies such as Ferrero value the health and wellbeing of our future generations. By working with us to create and deliver these programmes Ferrero is helping to ensure that the next generation grow up to be healthy and fit adults.”