BRONZE IS GETTING KIDS ACTIVE

You may have seen the news that Sainsbury’s have become the first corporate brand to endorse one of England’s Women’s World Cup stars – they have named Lucy Bronze as their newest ambassador for their Active Kids campaign. She made her first school visit today, to Bowker Vale Primary (in Crumpsall, Manchester) and we had a quick natter with her afterwards to find out how it had gone and a bit more about Lucy’s passion for what she can do for the kids and what the campaign can do for thewomen’s game too…

SK: Congratulations. How do you feel about being Sainsbury’s newest Active Kids Ambassador?
LB: Honoured and excited because I’ve always wanted to get into schools and see the kids, to get involved with the young girls and young boys and it’s giving me the chance to do that.

SK: After your first day, at Bowker Vale Primary, have you had good feedback and interaction with the kids?
LB: Yeah, it’s been really good. When I go home, obviously the kids around there know who I am but to be here in Manchester and to walk up to the school and have all of the kids saying, ‘Hiya Lucy, how are you?’… and I get to come in and have a kickabout with them and just have a laugh?
It’s something I enjoy doing and if I wasn’t playing football I’d probably be a nursery school teacher or a PE teacher, I just love being involved with the kids and making them laugh. I guess now, they see me as a bit of a role model and a celebrity in a way – I don’t really like it and still find it odd that people know who I am – but they listen to what I say, want to be like me and I think that the life that I live, it’s not a bad thing for them to want to be like me.

SK: Will going into schools be your main involvement in the campaign?
LB: Yeah, well it’s the majority of what I want to do, what I have asked to do and I think they want me to do. It’s part of the whole programme that they do. This year they’ve spent £11 million on sports equipment for schools, which they give to schools for free. I’ll be someone who is there to say, ‘Come on you’ve got the equipment, let’s go and kick those footballs’ and get them doing it.
David Beckham was part of it, he has obviously moved on to America and now Daniel Sturridge is part of it – it’s great to be involved in something that they’ve been part of.

SK: It’s great for getting kids involved in sport, what does your involvement say for women’s football in particular?
LB: I think the fact that I’m the first female footballer to be endorsed by Sainsbury’s, I think that alone says a lot. Not that it’s me, that it’s a women’s footballer, and it’s shows the growth after the world cup. Before the world cup it was ‘David Beckham and Daniel Sturridge’, now it’s ‘Daniel Sturridge and Lucy Bronze’. So kids don’t just have the men’s side but the women’s side too. They get to see a women’s footballer who has been successful and has a good career and I’m a pretty normal person to go in and see them. It’s really cool and just really exciting to be a part of.

SK: Might we be seeing you on promotional posters and ads and TV stuff?
LB: I’ve only just started today but potentially… probably. Hopefully there’ll be more stuff and with the season just finishing for me yesterday I’m ready to start with new stuff and for me, I want to get involved with the kids who have been inspired by the world cup. Being a part of the Sainsbury’s thing gives me a chance to do that – I’ve got a few months now where the kids are going back to school and I don’t want the legacy of women’s football to die off just because the season’s finished, I want to keep going, for the sport and for the little girls. Now the Premier League is back playing it’s back to ‘Wayne Rooney this’ and ‘Sergio Aguero that’, so now we have our off season it’s our chance to give back to the little girls and boys but the little girls especially, and keep them having the role models.
With the boys it helps because it’s not just showing young boys that women’s football is there, it’s getting the boys to respect the girls a little more because they’ve seen a women’s footballer who is a professional, they then respect the girls they’re playing football with in their class. They see that it is a legitimate career and a goal, a path to follow, there are really good, quality players, who are girls and they get that respect for their classmates and team mates. I really like that because I don’t think I had that when I was younger.

SK: Do you have to shop at Sainsbury’s now and get your team mates to shop there and collect the Active Schools vouchers too?
LB: Yes, but I shop at Sainsbury’s anyway! I’ll have to go there and do all the shopping for them as well!