The Football Association and McDonald’s today announced a new four year agreement to boost the standard and availability of coaching for young players in every community across England as part of McDonald’s renewed sponsorship with The FA.

The new deal aims to build upon McDonald’s previous four year sponsorship deal with The FA which created 8,000 new community-based volunteer coaches to provide youngsters with more access to qualified coaching.

Under the new deal, which sees the company continue as The FA’s official Community Partner, McDonald’s ambition is to coach one million youngsters through:
  • Creating 4,000 new volunteer coaches – plus enabling 1,500 existing McDonald’s coaches to take higher qualifications – to increase children’s access to qualified coaching by 2010;
  • Increasing the number of local accredited clubs (FA Charter Standard Clubs) to 4,500 by 2010;

In addition to increasing access to qualified coaching, McDonald’s joint activity with The FA will spearhead the drive to develop basic skills among junior players through "mini soccer" events with smaller pitches and fewer players.

The partnership also means that McDonald’s is The FA Learning Partner. This includes a range of initiatives such as programmes to promote short ‘taster’ coaching courses to attract new volunteers to get involved in community football especially parents.

As The FA's Community Partner, McDonald’s will also continue to be the Presenting Partner of The FA Community Shield, using it as the focal point for celebrating the contribution of tens of thousands of football volunteers.

Commenting for The FA, Chief Executive Brian Barwick said: "Our aim is to improve the standard of football at every level in this country and our continuing partnership with McDonald's is crucial to this aim.

"Through the creation of 8,000 volunteer coaches, McDonald's has already demonstrated that they can make a genuine difference to grassroots football so we're delighted to have reached this new agreement and continue to work with them.

"McDonald's has been committed to grassroots football for ten years and their focus on football for all and their presence in communities makes them the ideal FA partner in the community."

Commenting for McDonald's, Steve Easterbrook, UK President and CEO said: "I am delighted to renew our partnership with The FA. The creation of 8,000 community coaches represents a significant milestone of the company's support of grassroots football, providing us with a platform with which to focus our long term investment into the communities we serve everyday.

"The new partnership will allow us to continue to play our part in not only increasing access to qualified coaching and providing more opportunities for more children to play and enjoy Britain's national game, but also retaining and growing the number of volunteer coaches to leave a legacy that will last for years to come."