League Cup Begins Tour of Scottish Communities
Wednesday 27th July 2011
The Scottish Communities League Cup last week began a tour of Scottish Football League clubs community activities ahead of the clubs 1st round ties this Saturday, 30th July. More than 100 children attended community summer programmes held by Queen of the South, Alloa, Peterhead, Dumbarton and Livingston football clubs.
Kids aged between 5 and 16 years were photographed with the trophy, which promotes respect, responsibility and tolerance to football fans and families throughout Scotland.
At Livingston on Thursday 21st July, Shona Robison, the Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport was on hand to oversee the activities, which included an educational time out session encouraging positive behaviour and stronger communities.
Ms Robison said, “The Scottish Communities League Cup Trophy Tour is part of a package of measures building on the Scottish Government’s commitment to expand existing community football initiatives and help clubs, authorities and police in promoting positive behaviour through football.
“Scotland’s passion for football is legendary and the Scottish Communities League Cup tour will not only allow communities and fans to engage with the competition it will celebrate the positive contribution that football makes in our communities and encourage Scots to support their local team.”
Ms Robison was joined by Livingston FC chairman, Gordon MacDougall and 1st team manager, Gary Bollan who admitted that seeing the trophy up close has whetted his appetite for his club’s 1st round tie.
He said: “It’s great for everybody when a major trophy visits your football club. The children had great fun today and it offered a fantastic opportunity to come together and learn about three important messages aligned to our national game – respect, responsibility and tolerance.”
The £1 million Communities League Cup sponsorship scheme links SFL clubs to their local communities and supports the role clubs can play in encouraging physical activity, opening up their facilities and through Active Schools and Cashback programmes, as well as promoting positive role models and community ambassadors.
The partnership between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Football League promotes all that’s good about Scotland’s national game and puts local football clubs back at the heart of Scotland’s communities. The Scottish Government has invested £41 million to CashBack for Communities projects since 2007 with over £12.35 million committed to football until 2014.
Football fans of all ages, young people generally, parents, schools, teachers and SFL clubs at the heart of their local communities all stand to gain from the focussed efforts of the partnerships the Scottish Communities League Cup will generate.
Background
The 1st round of the Scottish Communities League Cup features the thirty clubs of The Scottish Football League at the end of the preceding season, which are not participating in the UEFA Club Competitions.
The First Minister announced on March 21,2011 that a £1 million funding package from the Proceeds of Crime Act will be used to fund the sponsorship of the Scottish Football League Cup, formerly known as the Cooperative Insurance League Cup.
Contact
Kevin McQuillan, Material UK: 0141 204 6761 / 07788 658471
Greg McEwan, Material UK: 0141 204 7977 / 07525 070306
