The SPAR Ireland FAI Primary School 5s Programme for 2022 was launched last week by new programme ambassadors, Republic of Ireland Women’s International Louise Quinn and former Republic of Ireland International and Ireland U17 coach David Meyler. 

The fun five-a-side football programme for boys and girls in the 4th, 5th, and 6th class has grown year on year. It is now the largest grassroots football programme of its kind in Ireland, with over 40,000 participants each year.

To ensure the safety of students and teachers, the 2022 SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme has been designed to run within schools. Teachers are provided with all the necessary support to host their own 5-a-side tournament, including video training tips, score sheets, and more. 

All schools registered by 18 February will be automatically entered into a draw to win prizes for the school. Schools that register their players and competition format before 4 March will be entered into a draw to play at the home of Irish Football, the Aviva Stadium, in May.

Fostering a passion for physical activity

The SPAR 5s is firmly focused on fun, inclusivity, and fostering a passion for physical activity. Even more, children can take part this year as teachers will no longer have to select a team of just eight players to represent their school. In addition, football-themed worksheets, building on the success of last year’s SPAR FAI School Zone, will be included in the teachers’ pack to encourage all children to get involved in fun lessons underpinned by the theme of football. 

SPAR Ireland has been involved with the School 5s programme since 2015. To date, more than 300,000 children have participated in the competition. In 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SPAR and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) pivoted to deliver innovative football themed lesson plans to schools where 102,860 participants in 2,205 classes learned core subjects including maths, history, geography, and more through football.

Speaking about the programme, SPAR Sales Director Colin Donnelly said, “The programme encourages children to get involved in sport and develop a love for football and physical activity. It perfectly complements our SPAR Better Choices campaign. Our SPAR retailers in over 400 locally based stores spread across the country very much look forward to working with schools to further grow the programme in 2022.”

Ongoing success

As Ireland’s largest grassroots football programme, the FAI is delighted with the ongoing success of the programme.

FAI Chief Executive Jonathan Hill commented, “The SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme is growing year on year. Even though we have had to adapt the Programme due to COVID-19, 2021 saw a record 1,696 schools and more than 100,000 children take part in the SPAR FAI School Zone. It is fantastic to have the Finals Day back at Aviva Stadium this summer. At the same time, we will see the introduction of an in-house school interleague campaign as well as a Football For All element with special schools involved for the first time.”

Source: SPAR Ireland

Read more about SPAR in Ireland

About SPAR Ireland

SPAR Ireland was established in 1963. It is operated by a leading wholesale and retail company, BWG Foods, now a subsidiary of SPAR Group Ltd Southern Africa.

With a presence across the Republic of Ireland, SPAR is one of the country’s largest convenience retail groups. In developing the business, SPAR Ireland has a long track record of recognising the strategic importance of new retail concepts. It operates three of the four SPAR formats: SPAR, EUROSPAR, and SPAR Express. These three formats bring consumers a comprehensive range of innovative products and instore offerings.