Football Clubs and Community Involvement

That the Parliament welcomes the good work done in their communities by leading football clubs in using their names to attract fans to take part in courses to educate young people about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, to develop a more positive attitude to school among pupils who are currently disaffected, to encourage and equip long-term unemployed people to start employment, to reduce sectarian and racist prejudices and to motivate many young people through football coaching to be more active and positive; believes that these good projects should be vigorously developed across the whole country by drawing on the enthusiasm and loyalty that football clubs arouse to motivate many more people to take part in these schemes, and further believes that the clubs, voluntary organisations, local authorities and the Scottish Executive should co-operate to provide and promote these benefits to individuals and to the community, bringing together the skills and energies of all those involved and the attraction of the club’s name, and that the Executive should carefully target more financial resources directly to these projects.