Page 15 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.33 2022-23

Northern Ireland senior women’s team captain Marissa Callaghan has been encouraging kids
from Dungannon to read books as they develop their life skills and football skills.
Marissa was the special guest at the Joe McAree Stadium in the Co Tyrone town as
McDonald’s hosted a special pop-up experience for families through a collaboration between
its well-known Fun Football and Happy Readers campaigns.
The event united families by providing free Fun Football coaching and free Little People
Big Dreams books for the children to enjoy.
The Northern Ireland skipper kicked off proceedings by jumping into a special Fun
Football session before sitting down to host a reading of Little People Big Dreams ‘I Can Be a
Sports Champion’ from the Happy Readers library.
The event took place to highlight the need to support communities more than ever and
will see McDonald’s build on its ongoing commitments to families in the UK. McDonald’s has
committed to a distribution of over 10 million books through its Happy Readers programme
and the provision of over two million hours of free Fun Football sessions in 2023.
David Walker, franchisee of the McDonald’s restaurant in Dungannon, said it was great
to see children in Northern Ireland making the most of the long-running McDonald’s Happy
Readers and Fun Football programmes.
“We have a rich history of supporting our communities and it’s brilliant to be able to
provide an experience that can unite children with different interests,” he said. “As a business
we are passionate about supporting and showing up for local families, be that by offering free
football coaching sessions or by providing access to millions of books, to help ease the
pressure we are all feeling currently. Seeing all the smiles on the children’s faces has been the
highlight of the day.”
Marissa said: “It was great to be part of the Happy Readers Fun Football event. Reading
and sports are key to a child’s development and it’s lovely to see a huge brand like McDonald’s
bring the two together at this unique and very special event.”
To find out more about the Happy Readers and Fun Football programmes, visit
www.mcdonalds.co.uk/family.

Tel: (0117) 9694544 Julian Barker
E-Mail: news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk Will Cheshire
Website: Colin Poultney (CollargeImages.co.uk)
www.WomensSoccerScene.co.uk GrifftersWorld Photography
Twitter:
@wssmagnews Winners of the 2006
FA National Media Award
Editors:
Neil Brown Views expressed in articles in this magazine
Mark Brown are those of the subject and not necessarily
those of Women’s Soccer Scene and its staff.
Contributors:
James Prickett (www.jamesprickett.co.uk) Issue no. 872
Patrick Higgins
Front cover photo: Manchester Utd striker Alessia Russo takes on Jess Carter of Chelsea
during the Vitality Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium (www.jamesprickett.co.uk).
news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk