The awards celebrate sporting excellence within Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. The Spirit of 2012 Connecting Communities Award specifically recognises organisations, individuals or projects which have had a significant impact on bringing local communities together through sport or physical activity.
The Mosque, situated in Barking, beat some strong competition in their category to win the Award. They welcome 12,000 people per week, and although it is a Muslim-run centre, they welcome everyone from within the many communities situated in the borough. Al-Madina were presented with their Award at the event by Spirit of 2012 Chief Executive Debbie Lye and Olympic Gold medal-winning rower, Mohamed Sbihi.
To win the Spirit of 2012 Connecting Communities Award is enormously humbling. To win it knowing we led the public and judges’ vote is confirmation we are doing it right.
– Ashfaq Siddique
The Al-Madina Sports Programme was created by Ashfaq Siddique, a long-standing trustee, and offers a wide range of sporting opportunities for people of all ages. He explained: “To win the Spirit of 2012 Connecting Communities Award is enormously humbling. To win it knowing we led the public and judges’ vote is confirmation we are doing it right. We reach out to and engage with nearly 400 youngsters weekly through our sports programme and if we are in the smallest way contributing to improving their lives through the sport or the social interaction then we are serving a very worthy purpose.
“Grassroots organisations such as Al Madina rarely receive the recognition deserved, so I congratulate Sporting Equals and all the sponsors for recognising our work and we hope this will be the beginning of a fruitful and lasting partnership. Most of all, I want to highlight to all volunteer grassroots organisations that everything is possible so do not limit yourselves and aim to excel in all you do.”
Debbie Lye, Chief Executive of Spirit of 2012, explained: “We’re proud to be sponsoring the Spirit of 2012 Connecting Communities Award. Spirit was founded to continue and recreate the joyful spirit of social connectedness that people experienced during the London 2012 Games. It’s so important to carry forward that celebration of our national diversity into the future, and this award is a great symbol of that.”
The British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards, which are now in their third year, are organised by Sporting Equals, the national partner of Sport England and advisors to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Sponsored by Lycamobile, the world’s largest mobile virtual network operator, the awards are leading the way in recognising and celebrating sporting excellence within Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
Further information:
The BEDSAs
Al Madina Centre
Sporting Equals