“Football should be accessible to absolutely everyone because the joy you get out of being part of something is bigger than just a game"

Rachel Furness knows a thing or two about finding the back of the net.

Northern Ireland’s all-time leading scorer, across the men’s and women’s teams, signed off last year with 38 goals in 95 senior appearances.

At 38, the midfielder has stepped away from playing but certainly not from football.

These days she is assistant coach at Newcastle United Women, passing on what the game taught her.

Now she has another role to add to the team sheet: McDonald’s Fun Football ambassador.

“For me, it’s important to give back,” says Furness.

“I’m very passionate about grassroots football and making sure that the right foundations get put in place.”

Furness has been coaching Newcastle’s under-16 girls and has worked with Northern Ireland’s under-17s - precisely the age at which a love of football can either take root or, without the right support, slip away.

She has seen McDonald’s Fun Football from the other side of the touchline before, attending an event in England.

This time, though, she is ready to roll up her sleeves and help make sure the game feels accessible to everyone.

When Furness was growing up, the door did not always swing open quite so easily.

“There were football camps that I couldn’t afford to go to,” she says.

“Back then it wasn’t as inclusive as McDonald’s is making it now.”

It is a familiar frustration for families: a child wants to play, but the sessions, travel or kit begin to add up.

The free Fun Football programme takes some of that pressure away, giving youngsters a chance to run about, meet people and kick a ball without anyone worrying about money.

And what looks like an hour of organised mayhem can mean so much more.

Furness’s best friend is still someone she met at grassroots football aged six.

The game, she says, taught her how to be part of a team, communicate and grow in confidence.

“Football should be accessible to absolutely everyone because the joy you get out of being part of something is bigger than just a game,” she says.

McDonald’s has committed to a further four years of grassroots support, while this year’s programme will, for the first time, include pan-disability sessions for neurodivergent children and provision for blind, partially sighted and deaf youngsters.

Furness knows why that matters.

“It’s all about breaking down barriers, making football more accessible and inclusive for everyone,” she says.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re from, who you are, or if you’re a girl or a boy. It’s for everyone.”

She made her first appearance at the McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards this year, excited to congratulate the young people and volunteers whose effort keeps local clubs ticking over week after week.

There is also, inevitably, a message for the girls standing at the edge of the pitch, deciding whether to join in.

Furness did not come from a privileged background and says she missed sessions because her family could not afford them.

It did not stop her forging a remarkable career, but she hopes today’s children will not have to face the same hurdles.

“I was once that little girl who didn’t have that opportunity, who didn’t have that role model to look up to,” she says.

“If me being an ambassador helps just one young child to stay in the sport, that’s important.”

It could be a conversation, an appearance or “something really small” - for Furness, that is enough.

She says: “The future of football isn’t in some far-off stadium; It’s on the local pitch, where the fun begins.”