M&S has today (26 January) announced the launch of a new national initiative, Eat Well Play Well Grassroots Edition, which will be dedicated to help grassroots football clubs across the UK elevate their nutritional offering, utilising the help of new ‘M&S ambassadors’.
With new M&S Food research showing some grassroots coaches lack confidence around nutrition, its ambassadors, including Jill Scott and Ian Wright, will be travelling across the UK to help grassroots clubs.
Joined by M&S innovation and development chef, Russell Goad, the team will help feed and fuel grassroots players and provide practical solutions for clubs on how they can introduce healthier eating on a daily and weekly basis. With one in three (31%) coaches believing players would perform better if they were fuelled properly, M&S Food is hoping that with its help the teams will eat well and play well this season.
A nationwide survey of more than 2000 grassroots coaches and parents across the UK found that almost a third of coaches (31%) say they would welcome training to provide nutritional advice, with only around one in seven (15%) feeling comfortable offering guidance to parents or players when asked.
When it comes to performance, despite believing their players would perform better if they fuelled properly, 33% of coaches report that players often arrive under-fuelled, and more than one in five (22%) also say grassroots players are sometimes limited by lack of energy.
Conversely, parents clearly see the link between nutrition and football performance, with one in four (25%) noticing changes in their child’s performance based on what they eat, but this isn’t necessarily translating to ensuring their child is fuelled properly. nearly one in ten (9%) lack confidence in what their child should eat before football and even turn to ChatGPT for nutrition advice (19%).
According to The FA’s 2024 Social Return on Investment Report report, the grassroots game is worth £15.9bn to society each year. This includes £3.2bn total healthcare savings due to supporting the health and wellbeing of the nation. Football-playing children deliver £110m in health savings for the NHS from 200k fewer cases of obesity and 60k fewer cases of anxiety and depression.
Wright, a former Arsenal and England star, said: “Until Arsene Wenger became Arsenal manager in 1996, I had no idea about food or how what I ate affected my performance. He changed everything for us, cutting down fried food and salt, getting us to eat more protein, and making us take vitamins.
“That’s why this M&S Food campaign is so important, because it’s supporting grassroots coaches and clubs to understand how they can help their players feel and play their best by eating the right stuff before and after training and games.
“Football and nutrition have come a long way since I was playing, and I’m happy to be part of something that helps everyone in the grassroots game understand more about nutrition, and ultimately helps kids eat well and play well”.
The Eat Well Play Well Grassroots Edition campaign will roll-out across grassroots clubs over the coming months, with a brand new content series showcasing stories from selected grassroots clubs across the UK to help parents and coaches make healthier choices.
The content series will also be hosted across M&S social channels including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram with a series of weekly episodes having started yesterday.
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