This summer the food retailer is giving local football fans the chance to start collecting limited edition stickers of their favourite Northern Ireland football heroes like Conor Bradley, Justin Devenny and Simone Magill.

The collection includes 50 stickers featuring players and managers, alongside an accompanying album packed with quizzes, player facts and nutritional tips designed to inspire the next generation of footballers. The official album is available for £3 in M&S stores across Northern Ireland, while customers will receive a free pack of stickers for every £20 spent in store.

The launch forms part of M&S Food’s ongoing partnership with the Irish FA, alongside its counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales, which has been in place since 2022. The collaboration uses the power of football to help families make healthier choices.

The ‘Eat Well, Play Well’ campaign connects the eating habits of Northern Ireland’s footballing heroes with their performance on the pitch, promoting positive, relatable health messages for kids in a way that’s engaging, relatable and drives change.

Helping launch the limited-edition sticker collection, Northern Ireland football legend Aaron Hughes said: “There’s something timeless about Panini stickers – they’ve always been part of football culture. To now see Northern Ireland players featured like this is a brilliant moment for the game here.

MAKING POSITIVE CHOICES

“For young fans, it’s a fun way to connect with the players they look up to, but it also ties in with an important message around staying active and making positive choices. That’s what makes this campaign really meaningful.”

M&S is also encouraging the swapping of stickers with others in their area, helping to build a sense of community around the campaign.

Ryan Lemon, Regional Manager of M&S Northern Ireland, added: “We’re delighted to partner with Panini and the Irish FA to bring this exclusive sticker collection to our customers across Northern Ireland.

“Football has a unique ability to connect generations, and this campaign taps into that in a really positive way – combining the excitement of collecting with an important message around healthier lifestyles.

“Through Eat Well, Play Well, we’re creating a fund and engaging way for families to connect with local players while encouraging young people to make positive choices both on and off the pitch.”

Eat Well is M&S’s health seal of approval, found on thousands of products to help make healthier choices easier. Every product featuring the Eat Well flower offers a health benefit and supports a balanced diet.

For more information on the M&S Food ‘Eat Well, Play Well’ campaign visit www.marksandspencer.com/football

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Tanya and Emily put the young players through their paces, delivering a session packed with high-energy drills and tips to help develop their skills after they won a coaching session with members of the Northern Ireland senior international women’s team.

The exclusive coaching masterclass was part of M&S Food’s Eat Well, Play Well campaign in partnership with the Irish FA that uses the power of football to inspire young people and their families to make healthier food choices and lead active lifestyles.

The campaign links the eating habits of Northern Ireland’s footballing heroes to how they play, promoting positive healthy eating messages for kids in a way that’s engaging, relatable and drives change.

Ryan Lemon, Regional Manager for Northern Ireland at Marks and Spencer said: “Our Eat Well, Play Well campaign is all about helping young players understand that healthy food choices can have a big impact both on and off the pitch.

“It’s an unforgettable experience, and we hope that what they take away from today will inspire them to continue making smart choices, both in their love for football and in their everyday lives.”

For more information on the M&S Food Eat Well, Play Well campaign visit: www.marksandspencer.com/football

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This summer the food retailer is giving local football fans the chance to start collecting limited edition stickers of their favourite Northern Ireland football heroes like Conor Bradley, Demi Vance, Shea Charles and Simone Magill.

The collection features 50 stickers, made up of players and managers, and an album packed with quizzes and fascinating facts about the nation’s football icons, as well as nutritional advice for aspiring young footballers.

M&S Food has had a partnership with the Irish FA, alongside its counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales, since 2022 aimed at using the power of football to help families make healthier choices.

The ‘Eat Well, Play Well’ campaign links the eating habits of Northern Ireland’s footballing heroes to how they play, promoting positive healthy eating messages for kids in a way that’s engaging, relatable and drives change.

Helping launch the limited-edition Northern Ireland football sticker collection, senior women’s international, Demi Vance said: “It’s an absolute dream come true to see myself on a Panini sticker.

“It’s incredible to be part of a campaign that not only reignites that childhood excitement but also promotes health and well-being through football.”

Ryan Lemon, Regional Manager of M&S Northern Ireland added: “This campaign offers a fantastic opportunity to create a fun, engaging way for families and fans to connect with their favourite Northern Ireland players and learn about the benefits of making healthier eating choices.”

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In a first of its kind, the multi-year-deal sees M&S Food, Irish FA and the Northern Ireland football teams shining a light on what players eat to help inspire families to eat healthier this Summer and beyond.

By using the influence of Northern Irish footballing heroes, the partners aim to not only make healthy eating choices easier for families but also show that healthy and balanced doesn’t have to be quinoa and kale – it can actually be a lot more fun and tasty!

This timely partnership comes as health is high on the nation’s agenda, with 53% of Northern Irish people concerned about family health. 40% share concerns on getting nutritious food into their diets – so this focus on M&S and its Eat Well seal of approval comes just at the right time.

Over the last few years M&S Food has invested significantly making its ranges, including Eat Well, even better value, whilst protecting the things its customers love most – its market leading sourcing standards and its delicious, innovative products.

The partnership is packed with initiatives – from in store exclusives where budding sports stars can find out their favourite players’ recipes and eating plans, to unprecedented online insight on players, managers and legends sharing their favourite Eat Well products.

So fans of all ages can now truly eat like their football heroes no matter their age or footballing ability. Whether its pre or post-match, or just a quick snack before heading off to watch their local team play.

Northern Ireland senior team men’s manager Ian Baraclough said: “Nutrition in football has come a long way since I was a player in the late 80s and 90’s; our post-match meal was less sophisticated than it is today!

“Our current players are put on specific programmes to give them the best possible fuel for matches and to help them recover after the game so very different to my day. Our players are such icons in Northern Ireland and I think this partnership with M&S Food and Eat Well will help give the budding footballers of the future a real insight into what their heroes are eating and inspire them to eat and train the very best they can.”

Stuart Machin, CEO of M&S, is equally passionate about the partnership and health, and making healthier choices more accessible, is of utmost importance in the retailer’s strategy going forward. He says: “Today I’ll be writing to all our customers about this partnership and our aim to make a real difference to health and inspire the next generation.

“By harnessing the influence of the players as role models, we want to encourage children and families to make healthier food choices through choosing Eat Well.”

Stuart added:“We have nearly 2000 delicious Eat Well products across our Food Hall, from great quality fruit and vegetables to meals, snack and drinks, all at trusted value.  We’re constantly developing and improving our ranges, to give our customers delicious, healthier choices every day”

Nicola Finlay, Regional Manager Northern Ireland, adds: “Our work with the Irish FA is much more than a sponsorship, we want to help change the health of the nation and the first step is to further increase the number of products with the Eat Well flower and make it easier for customers to spot them. Shoppers in Northern Ireland will be able to pick up specific national recipe cards in store so they can replicate their favourite player meals at home – whether that is breakfast, lunch or dinner. Budding stars can even find out what Eat Well products Northern Ireland players consume at training camps.”

Customers will see the campaign come to life from July in line with the summer holidays and all stores across the UK will have clear Eat Well identifiers throughout its stores. M&S Food Halls will also launch a purpose driven marketing campaign including free fruit for kids in all stores and Fresh Market Specials on seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Later in the Summer customers will also be encouraged to make healthy choices in store through a huge competition that will reward Eat Well choices with an incredible, once in a lifetime prize.

Caption; Pictured launching the ‘Eat Well, Play Well’ campaign is Northern Ireland senior women’s international, Kirsty McGuinness and Northern Ireland U19 international, Michael Forbes alongside Nicola Finlay, Regional Manager for M&S in Northern Ireland and budding young footballer, Theo Lever.

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The partnership will see the Irish FA and safefood expand the delivery of its football based ‘On the Ball – Healthy Know How for Active Kids’ programmes and events.

It will aim to teach the importance of healthy eating habits and being active from an early age to 3,300 children and 700 parents and carers across Northern Ireland.

As well as continuing as the Irish FA’s official safe and healthy eating partner, the extended partnership will welcome safefood as an official patron of the Education and Heritage Centre at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park. This will include free nutrition workshops for visiting schools, focusing on the benefits of healthy eating habits as part of an active lifestyle.

Speaking about the partnership, Fiona Gilligan, Director of Communications at safefood, said: “safefood is proud to continue our innovative collaboration with the Irish FA as we look to expand our ‘On the Ball – Healthy Know How for Active Kids’ programme to over 3,000 children this year.

“We will continue to use football in creative and fun ways to educate children on the importance of eating healthily and how it can help them to be more active. By nurturing children to develop these positive habits during the early stages of life we can give them building blocks towards a longer and healthier life.

“We will also be working closely with the Irish FA to integrate important messages about safe and healthy food into the National Football Stadium’s Education and Heritage Centre, which inspires future generations of young footballers.”

The ‘On the Ball – Healthy Know How for Active Kids’ programmes and events will include the rollout of a series of six-week after-school programmes across 48 primary schools, with 12 primary schools also participating in interactive community-focused festivals.

safefood and the Irish FA will use a mixture of animated presentations, player videos, interactive games and quizzes to encourage children to make healthier choices such as eating more fruit, vegetables and healthy snacks, and swapping sugary drinks for water or milk.

Workshops will also promote the importance of a good night’s sleep for their development, encourage them to be more active every day and provide tips on reducing the amount of time they spend on their screens.

Stephen Garrett, Commercial Manager at the Irish Football Association, said: “The Irish FA are delighted to extend their strategic partnership with safefood which will seek to educate children and families throughout Northern Ireland on the importance of healthy eating.  We’re particularly excited to embed this educational activity throughout the Irish FA Tours programme, via the Irish FA Education and Heritage Centre, by delivering free workshops to visiting schools throughout the year. For more information contact tours@irishfa.com or visit irishfa.com/tours.”

safefood is an all-island body with a remit of promoting the importance of good food hygiene in the family home and helping people make more informed choices about the food they eat.

For more information on safefood visit www.safefood.net/news

Caption: Pictured at the launch are (l-r) Alfie Liggett and Ella Nazik from Forge Integrated Primary School alongside NI Women’s International player Vicky Carlton.

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