The English FA has partnered with Weetabix to encourage the embrace of healthy choices through a new ‘Eat Well, Live Well, Play Well’ initiative.
The partnership will see the cereal become the official breakfast category partner of the England senior men’s and women’s teams and the lead partner of Wildcats, a participation programme for girls aged between five and eleven.
Wildcats – which will be renamed to ‘Weetabix Wildcats’ – helps girls get involved with football for the very first time with others their own age. There are currently over 1,600 Wildcats providers across England, giving girls the opportunity to play football in a fun and friendly environment.
In Ireland, the equivalent would be the long-running Aviva Soccer Sisters programme though that does go to an older age group as well.
Together with the support from Weetabix the GA has committed to doubling the number of Wildcats providers by the end of 2024 and will work closely with performance experts to implement learning about nutrition as part of the Weetabix Wildcats programme.
The new partnership will focus on Weetabix Original’s nutritional credentials – being low in sugar, salt and fat as well as high in fibre – helping to support the health of the nation with a strong start to the day.
“Providing girls equal access to participate in football is an organisational priority,” said FA Commercial and Marketing Director Kathryn Swarbrick.
“This will only be achieved with the support of committed partners and we’re delighted to welcome Weetabix to join us on this journey.”
“This partnership reinforces our belief that everyone can achieve their best with a proper, Weetabix start to the day, and we’re delighted that we can bring the Weetabix advantage to the next generation of talent through our work with Weetabix Wildcats and England teams,” added Gareth Turner, Head of Brand at Weetabix, channelling the brand’s long-standing marketing positioning.
“We are looking forward to collaborating with our customers in all trade channels to bring this to life during what are set to be two huge summers of sport. Stand-out activations in-store, warehouses and online will undoubtedly drive footfall to the cereal aisle and raise awareness of the entire category, tapping into heightened shopper interest.”
The partnership will run from April 2021, ahead of two big summers for England teams with the men’s UEFA EURO finals in 2021 and UEFA Women’s EURO in 2022.
Sport for Business Partners
