Newhaven FC

Newhaven McDonald’s crowned Football Restaurant of the Year!

Grassroots Football Restaurant of the Year awarded to Newhaven

Newhaven McDonald’s has won the Grassroots Football Restaurant of the Year through their sponsorship of Newhaven FC.

The restaurant has proved to be a shining example of the impact a franchisee can have with their local community through football. 

Its sponsorship of Newhaven FC was setup in 2012 by the late franchisee, Ismet Turen. Since its creation it has helped hundreds of young people from the Newhaven area to play and enjoy football, with some even going on to play professionally and Newhaven Under-23s Manager, Kieran Ridley, is delighted to have the strong relationship: “It’s been a fantastic relationship. We’re all volunteers, so to have one of the biggest things taken care of is great. 

“We don’t have to spend hours searching for priceless sponsors meaning we can spend more time focusing on our actual roles as coaches.”

Currently Newhaven McDonald’s helps to sponsor over 300 players across 18 teams at the club, from junior girls and boys, up to under-18s and under-23s. Some of the coaches and players at the club also work at McDonald’s during the week, demonstrating the strong relationship between the restaurant and community. 

The strong link to the community, is something Ridley is delighted about: “We’re really proud. We’ve worked with McDonald’s for a long time now, firstly with Ismet, who has now sadly passed, but Yasemin (his daughter) has continued to support the club. 

“Moving forward, we want to use the partnership to help the club to continue to expand and work with more young players than ever before.”

Likewise, this has been a very useful partnership for McDonald’s whose franchisee, Yasemin Turen is following in her father’s (Ismet) footsteps in putting football at the heart of their community and is committed to carrying on his legacy: “It was an absolute pleasure to receive this award and I know my dad would be beaming with pride!

“Supporting our communities will always be part of what we do and we will continue to support great projects like Newhaven FC.”

Furthermore, she added: “The secret behind the relationship we have built with Newhaven FC has been that investment in time and growth. It has been a pleasure watching the teams evolve and bonds strengthened in our community. 

“I would like to be a part of now helping the girls teams develop from grassroots upwards and McDonald’s will continue to strive at being a great platform to support emerging talent.”

For further information about The FA and McDonald's Grassroots Football Awards please contact Development:

Development
T: 01903 766855
E: Development@SussexFA.com