Earlier this week Sporting Lisbon and Scotland Under-21 international Ryan Gauld made a special appearance at Kildrum Primary, Cumbernauld, in support of the Tesco Bank Football Challenge initiative.
The youngster met with excited primary two and three children as they enjoyed a training session with Scottish FA coaches as part of the programme.
Tesco Bank Football Challenge is now in its seventh year, and is run in partnership with the Scottish FA. Every year the project introduces 20,000 children to football in primary two and three (six to eight years old) across Scotland to help get them involved in a healthy and active lifestyle.
More than 120,000 children across 2,200 primary schools in Scotland have now engaged with the country’s leading football participation programme.Teachers and volunteers also continue to enjoy the Scottish FA’s in-service programme with more than 7500 now trained to support the growth of football in schools.
Ryan Gauld said: “It was fantastic to visit the children at Kildrum Primary today and great to see that the children here are so engaged in the Tesco Bank Football Challenge. School was where I found my love of football, the most important thing for kids of this age is to have fun with the sport whilst learning the benefits of a healthy and active life.”
Gillian McTaggart, Community Investment Manager at Tesco Bank, added: “Through our programme we are passionate about encouraging children to develop positive, lifelong habits in a fun way by getting fit and active through the power of sport.
“We’re delighted that the Tesco Bank Football Challenge could bring Ryan to Kildrum Primary School to see the children taking part, and we are proud that such a positive role model is supporting our Football Challenge initiative.”