Consett mum takes on Little Kickers football franchise
by WIN Admin — published in Press Releases
A WOMAN who was made redundant twice in the last two years has decided to turn her passion for football into a business opportunity by taking on a franchise.
Joanne Temple, from Consett, has snapped up the Newcastle/Gateshead West franchise of Little Kickers, a pre-school football programme for children aged from 18 months to seven years old.
Joanne said: “My husband works in the child fitness industry, providing before and after school clubs, so we looked for franchise opportunities which would complement his current business.
“I'm a massive football fan and Little Kickers seemed like the perfect opportunity to build a business around something I already have a huge passion for.”
The idea behind the business is to introduce children to football and fitness in a positive ‘play not push’ environment.
Joanne said: “Recent obesity statistics stated that children in the North East were four times as likely to be obese as others.
“That's extremely worrying and as a mother of a three-year-old boy, I'd hate to think of him becoming one of those statistics. Anything we can do to keep our children healthy is vitally important.”
She received a new business start-up grant from Gateshead Council's economic development team after impressing the team with the potential benefits for local children.
“I've spoken to a number of mums in the area about Little Kickers and many of them have said how great it will be to have a football class available for under-fives,” said Joanne.
“So hopefully, in a few years, we'll be able to say we had a few Newcastle United or Sunderland players through the Little Kickers doors.”
The new franchise has already created one job. Joanne has taken on recently graduated Matthew Musgrave, from Pelaw, as a coach and she hopes to be able to take on several more over the coming months.
Little Kickers, which runs as a national network of classes for boys and girls, aims to instill a sense of fun, confidence, co-ordination, control and sense of camaraderie in those who take part, using football as the forum.
The classes are divided into ages, with Little Kicks for children aged 18-27 months, Junior Kickers for toddlers aged two to three and a half, followed by Mighty Kickers for three and a half to five-year-olds and finally Mega Kickers for the five to seven age group.
Statistics stated that children in the North East were four times as likely to be obese as others.
Source: Karen Dent, The Journal