Local bar goes global with range of craft beers
Posted: October 16, 2014 Filed under: Culture, Leicester | Tags: beer, Braunstone Gate, Leicester Comments Off on Local bar goes global with range of craft beers
O Bar, Braunstone Gate, Leicester
Craft beer fans in Leicester are in for a treat after the Obar in Braunstone Gate was given a revamp to become a specialist craft beer venue.
The bar now has one of the most extensive craft beer selections in the city, with over 20 different bottles, 14 beers on draught and two ales. The range includes beers brewed by local breweries, as well as craft ales and beers from as far away as Iceland and the USA.
At the same time, the trendy bar has been given a facelift and begun offering a new bar menu created by the Smokehouse restaurant above the Obar, which opened permanently earlier this year having initially launched as a pop-up venue.
General manager at the Obar, Phil Hewitt, said: “The craft beer we’ve been offering upstairs in the Smokehouse has been going down a treat, and in general terms craft beer has been rising in popularity, so we decided to give the Obar a fresh look and introduce a wider range of craft beers.
“We believe we’ve created something different – not just for Braunstone Gate but for the city of Leicester too. We plan to rotate the beer we offer, as well as feature guest craft beers, so that we can serve a dynamic range and appeal to all tastes.”
Phil has been working with chef Liam Watson to source beers that complement the food being served at the Obar, as well as beers that are likely to be popular with punters.
The venue has introduced four house beers from London-based brewery Meantime, a rotating selection of up to three local cask ales, a range of imported American keg beers, and will serve a wide selection of imported and home-brewed bottled craft beers from Europe and the US, including items from breweries such as Camden Town Brewery, BrewDog, Crafty Dan, Innis & Gunn, Blue Moon Brewing Co, Goose Island, Brooklyn Brewery, Anchor, Founders and Sly Fox.
It will also serve Orchard Pig Explorer Cider, produced in the West Country.
The Obar, which is part of the East Midlands-based Orange Tree group of pubs, bars and venues, was opened in 2001 as the group’s third venue. It also operates the Orange Tree in High Street, Leicester, the Lansdowne in London Road, Leicester, late-night venue the Basement in Wellington Street, Leicester, as well as the Orange Tree and the Kelso in Loughborough, and the Orange Tree in Nottingham.
Director Ben Hings, who runs the group with Gareth Smith, said: “Innovative flavours of beer developed by breweries have become very popular with beer connoisseurs and bar-goers in general, and we’ve worked hard to create a range that we hope will appeal to drinkers in the Braunstone Gate area, and will also encourage people to come from other areas of the city to try the craft beers.
“After getting fantastic feedback last year when we opened the Smokehouse as a pop-up venue above the Obar, we launched the restaurant permanently earlier this year and it’s now become a popular place to eat in the city. As a natural extension, we’ve recently begun offering lighter, smaller meals from the Smokehouse menu downstairs at the Obar and the new range of craft beers we’ve introduced fits very well with these dishes.”
The Obar is open from 4.30pm to 2am daily, and is based at 59-61 Braunstone Gate.
For more information visit http://www.orangetree.co.uk/obar
City mourns loss of a giant
Posted: August 25, 2014 Filed under: Culture, Leicester, Uncategorized | Tags: Embrace Arts Centre, Lord Attenborough, Picasso Comments Off on City mourns loss of a giant
A longstanding friend and admirer of Leicester
The city of Leicester joined in tributes to film icon Lord Richard Attenborough, who died on Sunday just five days short of what would have been his 91st birthday.
During a movie career which spanned several decades, Lord Attenborough starred in the classic films The Great Escape, Brighton Rock and Jurassic Park, as well as earning two Academy Awards for his work on 1982 biopic Gandhi.
Although born in Cambridge, he was brought up in Leicester, where his father was principal of University College (later Leicester University) and his mother chaired the board of the Little Theatre. Together with his brother David, who would become equally distinguished as a naturalist and broadcaster, he attended the Wyggeston Boys’ Grammar School, and credited the city as a significant influence on his outlook on life. Indeed, it was at the Little Theatre where he gave many of his earliest acting performances.
A passionate advocate of social inclusion, Lord Attenborough co-founded the Embrace Arts Centre at the University of Leicester, which promotes and encourages engagement in the arts by people with disabilities. He also entrusted the city of Leicester with his collection of ceramics by the artist Pablo Picasso, which are on permanent display at the New Walk Museum. Both he and David were made Honorary Freemen of the City of Leicester in November 1989.
Although he retained a great affection for Leicester throughout his life, which was evident in a message he sent to the then Lord Mayor in 2011, it was not entirely unlimited. When moving to west London in the late 1940s to pursue his acting career, Attenborough became a keen supporter of Chelsea Football Club, and served as a director for 13 years before stepping down due to work commitments in 1982. He subsequently held a number of roles before being made Life President of the Club in 2008.
In a statement whose sentiments will be echoed by many who had the privilege to work with him, Chelsea said, “Lord Attenborough was a thoroughly lovely and talented man who used his fame and influence for the good of the many causes close to his heart. We will always be grateful that our football club was one of them.”
Ironically, Chelsea’s final game during his lifetime was a 2-0 home victory against Leicester City.
Lord Attenborough is survived by his wife Sheila, two brothers and two of his three children. There will be many in Leicester and elsewhere who will feel and share in the family’s loss.
City can summon the spirit of 1996
Posted: August 16, 2014 Filed under: Football, Leicester City FC | Tags: 1996-1997, 2014-15, Danny Drinkwater, Esteban Cambiasso, Ian Marshall, Jeff Schlupp, Kasper Schmeichel, Leo Ulloa, Liam Moore, Martin O'Neill, Matt Elliott, Nigel Pearson, Premier League, Riyad Mahrez, Steve Guppy, Wes Morgan Comments Off on City can summon the spirit of 1996
Esteban Cambiasso – pointing the way to Premier League success for the Foxes?
Today sees the start of the 2014-15 Premier League campaign – the first in 11 years to feature Leicester City.
Many media scribes, though, forecast the Foxes to make an instant return to the lower leagues.
Superficially, they may have some justification for this. Two of City’s previous three spells in the top flight during the Premier League era have lasted just one year, while five of the last ten Football League Champions have suffered instant demotion.
However the style, flair and resilience so often displayed from Nigel Pearson’s side on the way to collecting last season’s crown with a record total of 102 points are indications of their capability to confound the critics.
There are similarities between the current side and the fabled 1996-97 side built by Martin O’Neill, which was also widely disparaged and condemned as doomed by many pundits before a ball had even been kicked. Yet O’Neill led his squad to a top-half finish (as he would do in each of the following three seasons) as well as guiding them to the League Cup.
His side was full of eager, hungry footballers determined to establish themselves at the top level – a mix of experienced, hardened professionals and fresh, emerging talent. It is a blend that none of O’Neill’s successors at City – until Pearson – have been able to replicate.
Several of the current squad – goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, central defender and captain Wes Morgan, utility player Jeff Schlupp and winger Riyad Mahrez – have already achieved recognition at international level. Others – most notably, influential midfielder Danny Drinkwater and locally-born defender Liam Moore – look likely to do so in the future.
As at this stage in 1996, though, the squad is still a work in progress. Reinforcements will be needed to add a depth which a crop of pre-season injuries suggests may currently be lacking.
But in the same way as O’Neill distinguished himself with the targets he landed during that season – most notably Ian Marshall, Matt Elliott and Steve Guppy – Pearson can identify and recruit players who will bring more steel to the club.
This process has made a promising start with the signing of striker Leonardo Ulloa from Brighton and ambitious efforts to add his compatriot Esteban Cambiasso from Inter Milan. The arrival of the veteran midfielder, whose collection of winners’ medals is second only to that of Lionel Messi among current Argentine players, would send a clear signal that City look to do more than make up the numbers in the world’s most lucrative league.
Although the club’s Thai owners will not be realistically expecting a top-six finish this season, the stable environment they have helped to create at the club gives City an advantage over many of its rivals.
The board, management, players and fans are all pushing in the same direction and with lavish funds available in the transfer market – which hasn’t always been the case during previous forays at this level – City can once again, as in 1996, become a Premier League force to be reckoned with.
A writer who inspired a city and a generation
Posted: April 11, 2014 Filed under: Culture, Leicester | Tags: Adrian Mole, Sue Townsend, The Queen and I Comments Off on A writer who inspired a city and a generation
One of Leicester’s most inspirational and influential writers
Leicester has moved from euphoria to shock in a matter of days.
The joy at seeing Leicester City finally confirm their long-awaited return to the Premier League has been swiftly replaced by grief over the passing of Sue Townsend, one of the city’s most notable and cherished literary figures.
When the news broke via social media. many reacted with shock and disbelief. It was only when Bali Rai, a fellow author and friend of Sue’s took to Twitter to confirm her death that rumours of a cruel hoax could finally be dispelled.
Born and raised in what might charitably be described as modest surroundings in the south of Leicester, Sue initially sowed few signs of the stratospheric talent that lay within her possession. Indeed she left school at 15 and became a mother while still in her teens. It was only once her second husband persuaded her to join a writers’ workshop at the former Phoenix Theatre that her prowess as a writer became apparent.
Sue was best known for her numerous works featuring the progress of Adrian Mole from adolescence to middle age. Mole was a socially-awkward individual with whom many in the 1980s could readily identify, and he soon attracted a substantial following which has remained loyal through the decades.
But Sue’s creative talents extended well beyond that. Her book, The Queen and I, in which the royal family is forced into internal exile on a Midlands council estate, displayed a particularly keen, and much-appreciated sense of humour which succeeded in disarming and pacifying the most ardent of monarchists.
Wealth and fame did not spoil her in any way, shape or form. Despite battling with diabetes and consequent blindness during the later years of her life, Sue remained in touch with her working-class roots and became a fierce critic of New Labour, particularly in the aftermath of the Iraq war.
The volume and range of tributes to her on social media, even during the early hours, illustrate the deep affection with which Sue was regarded, not just in Leicester and Leicestershire, but nationally and beyond.
She was warm, witty and a wonderful writer. It is to be hoped that the city council will devise a fitting way of celebrating her life and honouring her memory in a manner which will reflect the enormous esteem in which she was held within the community.
Sue was an iconic talent, who will be greatly missed by family, friends and followers alike.
Comedy proves just the tonic for the Regent!
Posted: March 6, 2014 Filed under: Culture, Leicester | Tags: Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, Just The Tonic, Leicester, Regent Club Comments Off on Comedy proves just the tonic for the Regent!
Just The Tonic banner outside the club during the Festival
A city centre club has received widespread acclaim for its debut role in this year’s Leicester Comedy Festival.
Over 1000 people attended shows at the Regent Sports and Social Club, at 102 Regent Road, during the Festival.
The Regent staged the performances in association with local comedy club Just The Tonic. Its programme was opened by comedian Marlon Davis on Friday 7 February and ended with a show by sketch group Mixed Doubles on Sunday 23 February.
Colin Hall, spokesperson for the club, said “ We’re thrilled and delighted by the support the community have given us”.
“We contacted the Festival organisers last summer about the possibility of hosting a few events. They referred us to Just the Tonic, who devised a programme for us.
“Hosting over 30 shows during the course of the Festival was quite a challenge for the club. But the staff and members responded magnificently.
“We provided a warm, welcoming environment which was enthusiastically received and praised by acts and audiences alike.”
Several of the performers gave lavish praise to the club on social networks, describing it as “awesome”, “a great venue” and “absolutely delightlful”.
The Festival has also swelled the Regent’s coffers by several thousand pounds, with over 1200 pints of real ale being sold during its duration. Wine and cider also proved popular with customers.
Mr Hall added, “Like many licensed premises, the Regent has had to battle with tough trading conditions in recent years.
“There have been times when our future has looked a little uncertain. But the extra income that the Festival has given us has helped to ensure we’ll be around for many years to come.”
“Our profile within the local community has received a real boost, with increased interest from local residents and businesses alike.
“Many people have told us they couldn’t believe they had such a wonderful facility on their doorstep.”
The club has received a further boost after being shortlisted for the Best Small Venue award.
The winner will be announced at the Festival awards ceremony which will be held at the Mercure Hotel, Granby Street on Monday 17 March.
Mr Hall said, “We’re deeply honoured to have been given this accolade. It’s a fitting recognition for the exceptional efforts made by club staff and members to ensure our events would be a success.
“We felt we could make a contribution to the continuing success of the Festival. This nomination shows we have done just that”.
Further information on the Regent Club is available at http://www.regentleicester.co.uk
Further details on Just The Tonic is available at http://www.justthetonic.com
City residents urged not to face debt alone
Posted: January 23, 2014 Filed under: Leicester | Tags: debt, Money Wise, Poverty Comments Off on City residents urged not to face debt aloneA pioneering Leicester project to help improve people’s money confidence is encouraging people to not face debt alone and get help sooner, during National Debt Awareness Week (January 20-24).
Leicester Money Wise, a Big Lottery funded project, supports people to understand the financial choices they have, increase access to mainstream banking for social housing tenants and improve people’s ability to manage their money.
The Money Wise project is a partnership with Action Homeless, Community Advice Law and Service, The Y, Leicester City Council and all major social housing providers in the city. The funding bid was made Leicester’s voluntary and community sector consortium, Reaching People, with ASRA Housing Group as the managing partner.
A recent survey of people in Leicester city centre conducted by Moneywise showed that 38% of people asked would like support in managing their finances – and of this group only 12.5% said they had some savings and nobody had house insurance. Further answers showed that this group had little access to main stream credit, relying on catalogues and payday loans to get by.
Figures from national debt charity Step Change, which runs National Debt Week, show from 2011 to 2012 there was an increase of 109% in the number of people with payday loans and 42% of clients aged under 25 had payday loan debts, up from 25% in 2011.
Amanda Hack, head of economic development at ASRA Housing Group, said: “Our message is very clear – if you are a social housing tenant and have money worries then we are here to help you. The advice is free and independent from the housing provider.
“The period after Christmas can be a very difficult one, especially for those in debt as more bills start to come through. We would encourage anyone who is facing financial problems to speak to us as we can help now – don’t leave it any longer to get your finances back on track.”
Over the next four years Money Wise aims to particularly help those aged 18-25, those who have experienced recent changes in their employment, and those new to social housing by offering advice on managing money. This will be done through one-to-one sessions and throughout the project, group work, interactive gaming, online support, mentoring and a resident network.
For more information visit www.getmoneywise.org.uk or call 0116 242 1153.
Help available for Leicester residents in social housing
Our Time To Shine
Posted: November 6, 2013 Filed under: City Council, Culture, Leicester | Tags: Leicester2017, UK City of Culture Comments Off on Our Time To Shine
Leicester is proud to be bidding to become UK City of Culture 2017. The decision on this honour will be announced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on 20 November.
Our bid has showcased the creativity and diversity of its people –people who have backed the bid in song, in pictures and even in pastry… Will it be enough? Keep everything crossed for us!
The bid highlight Leicester’s strengths as a cultural destination: a city that’s attractive to its residents, many visitors, and potential investors. We will do this in four ways…
Building pride in our city
We will build up pride in Leicester making our city more visible to the rest of the UK, Europe and the world.
Opening up culture to all
We want to open up culture to everyone in the city, county and beyond. We also want our activities, people and venues to create cultural opportunities and long lasting partnerships.
Sharing the benefits
We will share the success of our growing visitor economy, and the expertise of our creative industries, by increasing opportunities to learn about culture through education and training.
Connecting young people with culture
We want our young people to enjoy culture. Over 50% of our population is under 30 and we want them to engage with culture and the wider city.
Here’s why we believe Leicester is the ideal candidate:
An eventful city
Our cultural scene covers art, craft and design, dance, film, music and theatre. We also have a great track record for hosting big events and a rich history that includes the recent discovery of King Richard III’s remains.
Diwali
Leicester’s Diwali celebrations are among the biggest outside of India, with up to 35,000 people attending the annual switch on of the lights on Belgrave Road.
Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival
Britain’s longest-running comedy festival, nationally acclaimed as “one of the top five comedy festivals in the world”
Richard III Exhibition
This record–breaking exhibition tells the story of King Richard III, his life and the search for his lost remains.
In Leicester, a successful bid could be worth millions of pounds to the local economy – and could lead to the creation of around 6,000 new jobs in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector by 2020.
An exciting programme of events in 2017 would attract visitors to Leicestershire in their thousands – and should make everyone in Leicester feel proud that the city they call home has finally got the recognition it deserves.
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
It’s easy to show your support and you can do this in several ways.
Pledge your support on Twitterand Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter (@Leicester2017) and share with us how you’re backing the bid.
Use the hashtags, #Leicester2017 and #UKCityofCulture, so you’re part of the conversation.
Help us spread the word about Leicester’s bid, Tweet from your personal or organisation’s profile to show you’re backing the bid!
Show that you’re supporting the bid by using our suggested tweet below:
I’m backing the bid to make Leicester the #UKCityofCulture 2017. Follow @leicester2017 and RT to show your support! #Leicester2017
For added impact, send this tweet to the DCMS (@DCMS)
Like us on facebook and send your messages of support, images and videos.
Help spread the word about Leicester’s bid, post on your personal or organisation’s profile to show you’re backing the bid!
Big up the bid by posting our suggested facebook message below:
I’m backing the bid to make Leicester the UK City of Culture 2017. Like their page to show your support too! facebook.com/leicester2017
Further information is available from the official bid website http://www.leicestercityofculture2017.co.uk/
Online success for Leicestershire author
Posted: May 13, 2013 Filed under: Culture, Ebooks, Leicester | Tags: Fiction Comments Off on Online success for Leicestershire author
Not So Noble Books, the independent digital publisher, is proud to announce the release of Dan Carver’s wildly funny and dark new novel RUIN NATION.
Released Friday May 3, the ebook RUIN NATION is a hilarious dystopian thriller describing a very British apocalypse. Filled with more than a fair share of horsemeat, lying politicians, marauding leopards and booze-soaked masses we witness the rise of a new establishment from the ruins of the old order.
Quite why the Welsh, Scots and the French turned their backs on the UK is not yet known, but hero Hugo Jupiter, a dishonourably discharged Army Surgeon, does his damnedest to find out.
RUIN NATION shot up in the Amazon charts on release, hitting the no.2 spot in the political fiction category and leaving authors the likes of John Grisham in its dust.
‘New writer’s hilarious vision of a blockaded Britain where only the drunk survive hits bestseller spot.’
About Not So Noble Books
Dan Carver’s book follows Not So Noble Book’s penchant for producing ebooks very much of the times, such as ‘Woof Hall’, a parody of the Royal romance by Hilarity Mental, and Marketing is Violence, a challenge to the demigods of the sign.
London digital publishers Erik Empson and Jasper Joffe are proving just how you can sell books on the net. Since launching in June of last year, Not So Noble Books has added over twenty titles to its fast growing catalogue of fiction and non-fiction which doesn’t conform.
Joffe comments: “Ebooks allow near daily revision of texts, covers, blurbs etc. They have changed what a book is, and allow direct access to the public without the filter of agents or big publishers. We can find the newest and best talent and get their books out there faster than ever.”
Download the book on amazon here:
NOT SO NOBLE BOOKS: http://www.radicaleyes.it/notsonoblebooks/
Contact for press copies or images: notsonoblebooks@gmail.com
A dedicated, devoted public servant – Phil Swift 1938-2013
Posted: April 15, 2013 Filed under: City Council, Leicester | Tags: Anti-poverty, Labour Party, Trade unions Comments Off on A dedicated, devoted public servant – Phil Swift 1938-2013
Phil Swift, who served as a member of Leicester City Council for 20 years from 1983 to 2003, and was Lord Mayor of Leicester at the turn of the millennium, has died at the age of 74 after a short illness.
His passion for social justice, especially in the workplace, earned him substantial and lasting respect among the community, and the local Labour movement in particular.
Born in the Belgian Congo to missionary parents, Phil was raised in Wales and Scotland, completing an apprenticeship as a bricklayer after leaving school in Arbroath. An avid motorcyclist, he survived horrific injuries sustained in a crash which kept him in hospital for more than a year and left him with a permanent limp.
After moving to Leicester to join an uncle (local author Eric Swift) in the mid-1960s, Phil worked in a variety of trades, serving as a representative of the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers for eight years and a health and safety representative for six years. He joined the Labour Party in 1980 and was first elected to Leicester City Council in May 1983.
One of his most notable achievements during his time as a Councillor was the successful campaign to secure a minimum wage for Council staff, long before this policy was adopted at national level.
In addition, Phil also played a significant role in securing funding for the much-needed redevelopment of the St Andrews estate within his ward, and backed the campaign to rename his local park after Nelson Mandela, during a time when the struggle against apartheid aroused considerable enmity from the local British National Party and others.
However, his commitment and principles did not always find favour with the Council leadership. For much of his time at the authority, the incomes of full-time members were heavily dependent upon their membership of Council and external committees, and therefore the patronage of officers of the majority group. There were occasions where Phil endured considerable financial hardship as a result of his stance against the Council’s compliance with government-imposed cuts.
Nevertheless, he continued to enjoy the support of voters in Castle ward, who re-elected him to the City Council on six separate occasions. He was also an invaluable source of help, support and inspiration to constituents, Council staff and colleagues alike.
In May 1999, the Council elected Phil as Lord Mayor of Leicester for the 1999-2000 civic year. He formed a successful professional partnership with Marilyn Hall (mother of the Leicester Voice editor) who became his Lady Mayoress. During their year of office, they represented the city with distinction and grace both locally and internationally, raising over £100 000 in their civic charity appeal for the Leicester Children’s Holiday Home.
A combination of failing health and deep political disaffection with “new” Labour caused Phil to withdraw almost completely from public life after his retirement from the Council in 2003. A stroke in 2008 forced him to relocate from his beloved flat in Lower Hastings Street to sheltered accommodation elsewhere in the city – a traumatic upheaval from which he never fully recovered. He passed away at Glenfield Hospital after developing a lung infection.
His interests included blues music, art, and snooker. He was also a keen follower of Celtic and Liverpool football clubs, and was particularly delighted to witness the match between Brazil (world champions at the time) and Jamaica in Leicester in October 2003.
While many in Leicester and elsewhere will mourn the passing of a dear and valued friend, the community will lament the loss of a devoted, dedicated and deeply conscientious public servant.
Phil’s funeral service will take place on Tuesday 30 April (1.00 pm) at Gilroes Crematorium in Leicester, followed by a private cremation.
Donations in his memory can be made to Leicester Children’s Holiday Home, either by cheque to Shaftesbury Hall,1 Holy Bones, Leicester, LE1 4LJ or online at http://www.justgiving.com/mablethorpe.
Phillip Ronald Swift – born Ibambi, Belgian Congo 18 July 1938, died Leicester 11 April 2013.
CITY TAKES LEAD TO RID GAME OF RACISM
Posted: March 24, 2013 Filed under: Football, Leicester | Tags: African-Caribbean Centre, grassroots clubs, Kick It Out, Leicester Nirvana FC Comments Off on CITY TAKES LEAD TO RID GAME OF RACISM
The message is clear – but how widely is it being heeded?
Many readers and viewers of large sections of the mainstream media may be forgiven for believing that the battle against racism in British football has already been won.
Incidents in Serbia and Italy, in which English fans – and even players – have been verbally and physically assaulted, have provoked widespread demands for authorities in those countries to put their house in order and introduce effective measures to combat racist abuse.
Many pundits making these demands have cited England as the benchmark that should be followed, in the belief that these issues, commonplace here a generation ago, have all but died out.
However, a number of incidents involving black players and fans during the current season, at both professional and grassroots level, have shown that this is far from the case. The assault on an Asian Manchester United fan on a crowded tram following a recent home match illustrates that the fears that continue to deter many fans from actively following their club are not entirely unfounded.
In the wake of such events, many stakeholders have formed the view that further initiatives are needed in order to eradicate racism entirely.
The Race For Football National Roadshow was officially launched in Leicester on 20 March. Over a hundred people attended a meeting at the African-Caribbean Centre, to discuss issues of racial discrimination and share their experiences of past events and frustrations.
Representatives from the FA, Leicestershire FA and Kick It Out responded to questions from members of the audience.. All three governing bodies were keen to stress their commitment to forge better working partnerships with grassroots clubs.
Another encouraging aspect of the event was the amount of media interest it received. Interviews from BBC East Midlands were broadcast live on the night and it was also covered by Sky Sports News and BBC Radio Leicester.
The roadshow aims to raise the awareness of black/minority ethnic communities in the UK at both the professional level and within the grass roots game to empower players, managers, coaches, referees and staff to set the agenda on race and diversity issues and to work collectively to do so.
However there is another element whose involvement in the campaign will be essential in order to ensure its success – namely the fans. Links need to be established with groups such as the Football Supporters Federation and Supporters Direct in order to ensure that the message is heard by the target audience.
As urban communities become ever more diverse, the commercial need to promote social inclusion in order to attract and retain supporters from all sections of those communities is now being recognised as being every bit as essential as the moral one
The recent appointment of Greg Dyke as incoming Chair of the Football Association is an encouraging sign that the organisation is prepared to continue to promote inclusion within the game.
His experience and political skills will be crucial in order to persuade sceptics that the FA can deliver progress as well as rhetoric.
Thanks to Leicester Nirvana FC for information assisting with this article
Leicester Voice 