Along with other football greats, Liverpool’s centre defender Virgil van Dijk and Aston Villa top scorer Ollie Watkins hosted Happy Readers and Fun Football sessions all throughout the United Kingdom over Easter. Every event included specialised fun football instruction for local children and a read-along of Little People Big Dreams by Happy Readers library.

The football stars handed families visiting each site hundreds of books and footballs throughout the day. Three nearby charities—Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, Skylarks in Birmingham, and Displaced People in Action in Cardiff—received five thousand books as well.

The invitation-only events underlined McDonald’s ongoing efforts to help families and communities in the UK and Ireland, including the distribution of over 10 million books under the Happy Readers program and the Fun Football sessions offering over 2 million hours of free play annually. They also underlined how physical exercise and reading help youngsters grow.

“Liverpool is a unique place, and I love being able to give back to the community that supports us so passionately,” said Virgil van Dijk. Similar to McDonald’s, I believe that children should play and learn. I’m here because my family and I have strong feelings about this issue.

McDonald’s is helping families by offering free books and fun football coaching. We gave children more than 3,000 books today; based on what I saw in the reading area and on the pitch, we might have future writers and football players.

“We want every child to be able to enjoy reading and football, regardless of their circumstances or background,” stated Michelle Graham-Clare, Chief Marketing Officer for McDonald’s UK and Ireland. Our two biggest initiatives, Happy Readers and Fun Football, will debut in 2023. Our goal is to bring kids from different backgrounds together and demonstrate that reading and athletics can be enjoyed together. We will make sure that families have unrestricted access to both of these. This year, we have more interesting Happy Readers and Fun Football programs planned for UK areas.

“We’re excited to see McDonald’s fusing football and books for this incredible series of events,” said Jonathan Douglas CBE, CEO of the National Literacy Trust. Kids’ interest for sports might motivate them to read, as the National Literacy Trust has observed. According to this recent study, reading and exercise don’t necessarily have to go hand in hand for a youngster to enjoy and grow. The encouragement of reading while exercising by inspirational athletes is heartening.