Sporting icon and mum of three Denise Lewis, has been unveiled by The FA as an ambassador for its revolutionary FA Tesco Skills programme. The highly successful scheme will become fully nationwide this summer, providing free high quality football coaching for children throughout England.
As one of the country’s most iconic sporting stars, best known for her Olympic heptathlon triumph at the Sydney 2000 Games and regular TV commentary on athletics, Denise’s role will be to encourage fellow parents to get their children involved in the nation’s favourite game over the summer holiday.
The Skills programme has been running since 2007 and is committed to delivering high quality, child-centred football coaching from expert FA Youth qualified coaches. To date The FA, in partnership with Tesco, has provided over 4 million child places on the programme.
Speaking of her involvement in the programme, Denise Lewis commented: “I’m delighted to be working with The FA to launch The FA Tesco Skills programme nationwide this summer. As a mum, it’s fantastic to see this scheme taking off up and down the country, especially when it means our children are able to get fit, enjoy the nation’s favourite game and benefit from the best quality coaching available.
“It’s so important that we encourage youngsters to get involved in sport in their local area, to not only get fit but also for their social development.”
The FA Tesco Skills programme is based on a unique child-centred philosophy coaching model from The FA, making it the leading youth football programme in England. It follows The FA’s "4-corner" coaching model, developing children socially, technically, physically and psychologically, giving them more than just football skills but life skills such as confidence, teamwork, decision making and problem solving. The coaching is also based on The FA Future Game with the aim of developing young players who are comfortable with a ball, creative and have good game understanding.
The sessions, which are free of charge thanks to the support of Tesco, will run throughout the summer holidays. Visit The FA Tesco Skills website for more information on how to register for a local Skills session.