Match Attax cards are great for kids' maths and social skills

A combination of soccer card collectable and strategy game, Attax is great fun for smallies, writes Ruth O’Connor, and it also offers a head start in terms of numeracy and getting along with others

It’s really about that Golden Ticket moment. Like Charlie ripping off the wrapper on the bar of Wonka’s chocolate, there’s that tantalising instant when kids tear open a packet of football cards and feel a frisson of excitement. Will they get their favourite player? Will they get to finish their collection? Will it be one of the “totally awesome” 100 Club or Limited Edition cards?

It’s a ritual after swimming lessons on a Friday in our house, the trip to the corner shop for the weekly pocket money spend. One packet of Match Attax cards sells every 1.2 seconds, and Irish kids collect more Match Attax per person than their UK counterparts. Match Attax cards are the official Premier League collecting cards and they’ve just acquired the rights to the Champions League, but the idea isn’t a new one.