140 primary school children from Carron Primary School, Sacred Heart Primary School and Moray Primary School got the chance to hone their football skills and meet Falkirk legend Alex Totten at the latest Tesco Bank Football Challenge Festival.

The Tesco Bank Football Challenge is a four year community programme run in partnership with the Scottish FA. The programme introduces football to Primary 2 and Primary 3 children (six to eight years old) across Scotland and gets them engaged in a healthy and active lifestyle. 

Local clubs Falkirk FC and Stenhousemuir FC have worked together to deliver the programme to over 300 boys and girls in the Falkirk area across the last six weeks and over 11,000 children across Scotland have been involved in the programme in the last six months.

Former Bairns manager Alex Totten said: "The Tesco Bank Football Challenge is integral to the development of the game in Scotland. It is not only about learning basic football skills but also about getting children involved in physical activity and leading healthier lives.

"It’s fantastic to see Falkirk and Stenhousemuir working together to give local children the opportunity to take part in a programme that is so beneficial for both the local community and Scottish football."



Adele Mills, Community Investment Manager at Tesco Bank commented: "Tesco Bank aims to make a positive contribution to the Falkirk area both in the way we do business and by supporting community initiatives. Football is central to this programme, acting as a vehicle for fitness and the development of both physical and social skills. 

"Our aim is to see hundreds of boys and girls from across the region participating in football on a regular basis and having fun. We hope our initiative gives the kids an experience that will stay with them for life and ultimately encourage regular involvement in the game."

Tesco Bank is investing over £1 million in the programme and will use the power of football to get six to eight year-old children active. The aim is to reach 72,000 boys and girls of all levels and abilities in, at least, 1,600 primary schools across Scotland’s 32 local authorities with over 500,000 coaching hours.