Report to the People
Morton & Sport
As any of you who were in the town on Saturday will be aware, supporters of Morton FC held a rally and march in the town centre. Their aim was generate publicity for the difficulties facing the club. I was pleased to attend the rally and discuss the supporters’ concerns.
Indeed, the issues raised on Saturday go far beyond Morton FC and football. They apply to the whole of sport.
Community based clubs, such as Morton, are about more than 90 minutes on the park on a Saturday. They are a focus for the population, do valuable work with young people and (on occasion, at least) are a source of civic pride. Morton football club is not just an asset to its supporters. It is an asset to our whole community.
By a happy coincidence, these points and more were made last Thursday, when the Parliament held its first full debate on sport and it’s role in delivering social justice.
In the course of the debate, MSPs on the floor of the chamber made the same points as Saturday’s marchers made on the street: Sport can be a major player in the fight against social disadvantage. And having a local football team gives us a head start.
Sport is a golden thread running through our social fabric. Asides from the obvious health benefits, sport delivers community cohesion, social development and a sense of personal achievement. Everyone is a winner if we invest in sport.
Sport has the capacity to lift the spirit and to enhance our sense of identity. It builds confidence and self-esteem in individuals, enhances educational achievement and promotes community integration. Sport can help to tackle many social problems. Sport can be part of the solution.
That is why the Scottish Executive has already introduced a raft of measures to support local sport. One notable example is the £20 million project to establish a new Scottish Institute of Sport, providing opportunities for everyone under the age of 18 to get involved and stay involved in sporting activity.
And we are going further. I look forward to debating the introduction of the "Supporters Direct" scheme in Scotland, which will help supporters have a louder voice in their clubs. Whether or not this will come too late to save Morton, however, is unclear.
But, what is clear, is that to bury such a valuable asset would deal a blow, not only to fans, but to our whole community and to our efforts to deliver social justice.
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