Paul O’Connell calls on primary schools to collect stickers & be in with a chance of winning €50K for their school sports facilities#AldiPlayRugby

The Competition:

Aldi and the IRFU have today announced the launch of an exciting new competition for every primary school in the country to be in with a chance of winning one of two €50,000 school sports facility makeovers in 2019. The initiative is the latest from the free Aldi Play Rugby programme and builds on the successful partnership to date. The partnership has seen the programme double the number of schools signed up and increased the number of children taking part in the programme to over 100,000 in 2018.

Launching the competition is former Ireland and Munster rugby captain Paul O’Connell, who as the Aldi Play Rugby Ambassador, is calling on primary schools across the country to take part, and for pupils and communities to work together as a team to support their local primary school.

How to enter your primary school:

The competition is easy to enter and works by primary schools collecting 300 of Aldi’s exclusive Irish rugby men’s and women’s stickers for their primary school. Available in Aldi’s 137 Irish stores, shoppers collect one sticker for every €30 they spend in store between January 28^th and April 7^th. Participating primary schools add the stickers to a large Aldi Play Rugby Poster and for every 300 stickers collected, they answer an Irish rugby trivia question and are in with a chance of winning €50,000 for the primary school’s playing facilities.

Open to primary schools nationwide, teachers, coaches, parents and school children interested in taking part in the competition can learn more by visiting 

Speaking at the launch, Aldi Play Rugby Ambassador Paul O’Connell said: “I know from experience what a difference good quality coaching, equipment and facilities can make, especially in the early years of developing as a player. Aldi Play Rugby is already making a real impact with young kids, having helped over 100,000 girls and boys to lead a more active and healthier lifestyle through rugby, up from 68,000 children taking part just three years ago. Now, Aldi Play Rugby is moving up a gear and this competition creates a world of opportunity for two lucky primary schools to each win a €50,000 upgrade to their sports and playing facilities. I’d encourage every Irish primary school pupil to get involved, and for Aldi shoppers to get behind their local schools and help them reach that 300-sticker goal.”

Aldi Ireland Group Buying Director John Curtin added: “Any school teacher or principal will tell you how challenging it is to fundraise for new school facilities and equipment. With Aldi Play Rugby, we want to help two primary schools improve their sports facilities, giving pupils the opportunity to fulfil their potential through play. This is a terrific competition prize, and it comes at an exceptional time for Irish rugby with the Irish team having inspired players and supporters of all ages and abilities. Aldi is delighted to be part of Ireland’s rugby success from grassroots level, and to be supporting the building blocks of future teams through this competition, our wider Aldi Play Rugby programme and ongoing commitment to making healthy eating accessible at every day amazing prices.”

While two primary schools will win the incredible €50,000 sports facility upgrades, there are a host of additional prizes on offer. Four primary schools (one per province) will win €2,500 worth of training equipment, while each primary school that completes a poster will receive a complimentary set of IRFU water bottles, four Aldi rugby balls and a new Aldi Play Rugby kit bag. One lucky primary school will also win an exclusive training session with Paul O’Connell and a full set of new school rugby jerseys.

A national IRFU programme for primary school children, Aldi Play Rugby is a free, supervised and non-contact rugby programme that provides everything schools need to get started, including sessions with local IRFU staff, online coaching resources and free coaching equipment. The overall objective of the programme is to encourage school children to get active, participate in regular exercise in a safe and controlled environment and to eat healthily.

The Aldi Play Rugby programme has gone from strength to strength with over 100,000 children from over 1,200 primary schools across the country signed up to take part this year. Participation in the programme has increased by almost 50% since Aldi partnered with the IRFU in 2016. Significantly, during 2017 / 2018, almost half of the children taking part (44%) were primary school girls aged between 7-12.

There is still time to sign up for 2019, and schools, teachers and coaches interested in getting involved can register at