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McDonald's Thornbury Collects National Grassroots Football Award At Wembley

MCDONALD’S THORNBURY COLLECTS NATIONAL GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL AWARD AT WEMBLEY

 

On Sunday 4th August, the team from McDonald’s Thornbury attended the 2019 FA & McDonald’s Grassroots Football Awards national ceremony, held at the home of football, Wembley Stadium connected by EE, to collect their award after being named winner of the prestigious Football Restaurant of the Year award.

 

The FA & McDonald’s Grassroots Football Awards recognise and celebrate the tireless volunteers who dedicate so much time to the grassroots game. The awards are now in their tenth year and the team from McDonald’s Thornbury join a long list of inspirational grassroots football heroes who marched down Wembley way to collect their coveted awards.

 

Thornbury McDonald’s has sponsored the Bradford City Disability football team for several years now, helping to promote their sessions to the wider community. The club was set up to help parents who were nervous about their children joining a mainstream club and, after five years of McDonald’s sponsorship and funding, has grown from just one team to over 200 members ranging from four to 63 years old.

 

Judges were impressed by the restaurant’s consistent support for the club and its coaches, from fundraising and travelling all around the UK to support them, to helping raise awareness in the local community that football is for everyone regardless of age, gender or ability.

 

The team from McDonald’s Thornbury accepted their award from football legend Pat Jennings ahead of The FA Community Shield, supported by McDonald’s, which saw Premier League and Emirates FA Cup champions Manchester City defeat Champions League winners Liverpool. During the half time break, Duncan Taylor and Jaimie Dorward from the restaurant joined World Cup hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst on the pitch in front of 77,000 fans.

 

“I have been involved with the Grassroots Awards since the beginning and the stories of the winners never fail to impress me. McDonald’s Thornbury should be extremely proud of its work and grassroots football in Thornbury is a much better place with McDonald’s Thornbury as part of it,” said McDonald’s ambassador Sir Geoff Hurst. “The English game is in a very good place at the moment with the Three Lions boasting a number of young and talented players, while the Lionesses have enjoyed a superb World Cup in France. Our national teams simply wouldn’t be in this place without the hard work of our grassroots volunteers – every player has to start somewhere. It was a pleasure to meet the team from McDonald’s Thornbury and I hope they continue their extraordinary commitment to football for many years to come.”

 

Local McDonald’s franchisee Duncan Taylor, who owns and operates the Thornbury restaurant and is an avid supporter of grassroots football in Bradford, said: “It’s an honour to be named Football Restaurant of the Year at the awards this year and I’m so proud of the efforts my team put in to support grassroots football. They’ve worked hard to cultivate a great relationship with Bradford Disability Football team, and it’s been a pleasure to see the team grown from strength to strength and the raise the profile of disability football locally.”

Having worked with The FA over the past 17 years, McDonald’s is the longest-standing supporter of grassroots football in the UK. Through this partnership, McDonald’s continues to champion the tireless volunteers who dedicate countless hours to provide enjoyable football to children and young adults regardless of age, gender or disability.

 

In addition to championing volunteers, McDonald’s has committed to providing over 5 million hours of fun football to 5-11 year olds and giving 500,000 children the chance to play football for the first time by 2022 through Fun Football Centres and other initiatives across the UK.

 

For further information on how to get involved in McDonald’s Fun Football initiative visit  www.mcdonalds.co.uk/funfootball  

To find out more about all of the 2019 FA and McDonald’s Grassroots Football Award winners, visit //www.thefa.com/get-involved/grassroots-football-awards/winners