A full-service marketing and PR agency that looks after several Dorset clients is celebrating a major win.

McKenna Townsend has been appointed to manage and implement a franchise development marketing strategy in Germany for Little Kickers, the world’s biggest and most successful pre-school football academy.

The agency will help expand the brand’s presence in Germany in a bid to recruit franchisees to deliver classes tailored specifically to the needs of children between 18 months and seven years of age.

McKenna Townsend has played an integral role in developing franchise brands in the UK and globally, working with clients such as Subway, Nathan’s Famous, The Travel Franchise, easyStorage and Cartridge World.

Sarah Townsend, Joint Managing Director, pictured left, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Little Kickers to drive its franchise recruitment programme, initially throughout Germany.

“We have extensive international franchise development experience and this appointment makes the perfect addition to our client portfolio.

“We are really looking forward to working with the team and helping the franchise expand at an international level.”

Established in 2002, Little Kickers is the largest provider of pre-school football classes in the world.

Operating in 33 countries, through a network of over 300 franchisees, with over 65,000 children participating in the programmes, Little Kickers is now looking for new franchisees in Germany to support global expansion.

Alan Kennedy, Group CEO at Little Kickers, said: “The appointment of McKenna Townsend as our development partner in Germany allows us to tap into unrivalled franchise development expertise in the country, which will enable us to achieve our ambitious expansion plans.

“We are currently operating in 33 countries across the world and our development ambitions for Europe in particular will be a vital part of our growth strategy.”

Earlier this month, Little Kickers won the award for ‘Best Business Serving Football’ at the Football Business Awards 2021.

Launched in 2012, the Football Business Awards celebrate the very best in football business, with the judging panel comprising Chief Executives of football clubs, professional football associations and grassroots football organisations.

Founded in 2003 by Matt McKenna and Sarah Townsend, McKenna Townsend represents a wide range of international, national and regional clients.

Dorset-based clients include Sunseeker International and Care South.