Sport: Team GB and ParalympicsGB

Bayo Alaba Excerpts

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Bayo Alaba (Southend East and Rochford) (Lab)]

I commend and thank hon. Members for all their brilliant maiden speeches. It would be remiss of me not to draw on the speech of my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich (Sarah Coombes); this month is Black History Month, and those, like me, of a certain vintage, will remember that West Bromwich Albion in the ’70s produced an amazing barnstorming football team, with three brilliant, graceful and very talented footballers at its pinnacle: the late Laurie Cunningham, the late Cyrille Regis, and Brendon Batson.

I too congratulate our Olympians and Paralympians. They have done our country proud, as other Members have said. Having been a community ambassador for the London 2012 Olympics, I understand the Olympic message and the vision it brings to people and communities. It inspires and uplifts communities and, indeed, nations.

I also pay tribute to ATF, a grassroots organisation that works across south Essex, including Southend East and Rochford. ATF is doing fantastic work, using sport to bring people together, to heal community divides and to work with people at risk of exclusion. It is testament to the power of sport in transforming people’s lives, particularly those who have had run-ins with the criminal justice system.

Since my election, there have been multiple incidents of knife crime and machete crime on my community’s high streets. It is scary for many of us and, if left unaddressed, it can have detrimental, if not fatal, consequences. Sport is often the point of intervention for young people, equipping them with life skills such as determination and teamwork. It can dramatically improve young people’s wellbeing, and it is an opportunity to bring them back into the fold.

I saw this for myself as an amateur football manager. I was part of the leadership team of a large amateur football club—one of the largest in Europe, in fact. At Old Parmiterians football club, we often supported and nurtured young people from within the community. We ensured that they joined a football team, and we supported them. Some of these young players had troubled pasts or were in the wrong networks, so football gave them a network. Being in a team with positive people, and different types of people, helped to shape their lives through grassroots sport.

It is an honour to pay tribute to the success of Team GB and to highlight the importance of local grassroots organisations, such as ATF, that use sport to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour by offering young people a second chance.