The 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 Awards are leading the way in recognising and celebrating sporting excellence within Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.
The Spirit of 2012 Connecting Communities Award will recognise an organisation, individual or project that has had a significant impact on bringing local communities in England together through sport or physical activity.
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 three nominees for the Spirit of 2012 Connecting Communities Award are:
Indian Gymkhana and Stanmore Jaffery’s Football Academy
The Indian Gymkhana Club is the largest and longest-standing multiracial Sports Club in the UK. Stanmore Jafferys deliver a range of sports for their local Muslim community. The two organisations teamed up to deliver a Football Festival event, which brought together children and parents from the Sikh, Hindu and Muslim communities and was attended by over 800 people.
MSC and AMS Interfaith Games
The Interfaith Games has been running for three years and is an annual week-long series of sports tournaments organised regionally across the UK for faith schools. It attracts over 500 participants from Muslim, Church of England and Catholic Schools. Last year saw the participation of 25 faith based teams, with over 400 school children from different faiths and backgrounds participating.
Al Madina (Ashfaq Siddique)
The Al Madina Community Hub in Barking, East London, provides religious, sport, social and educational support for the local Muslim community. The Al Madina Sports programme is wide and varied and up to 350 people of all ages enjoy and participate regularly in a number of physical activities. The sports programme was conceived, introduced and developed by Ashfaq Siddique, a long-standing trustee.
The public have the opportunity to vote for a winner on the main BEDSA homepage. Click here
Sir Mo Farah and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill are also shortlisted for BEDSA Awards, which will be hosted this year by Sir Lenny Henry. Commenting on his first ever nomination, Mo Farah said: “I am proud to be nominated alongside a great group of sportsmen and women in what was an amazing year for British sport.”
Densign White, Sporting Equals Chairman and three-time judo Olympian, commented: “We are delighted by the quality of our shortlist for the 2017 BEDSAs and looking forward to celebrating all that is good in BAME sport at the Hilton Park Lane with Sir Lenny Henry and our esteemed sporting guests.”
The Lycamobile BEDSAs are supported by Sport England, UK Sport, The Tennis Foundation, Youth Sport Trust, England Athletics, The Armed Forces, Mind and Spirit of 2012.
This year’s judges include former Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and England footballer Sol Campbell, former Olympic athletes Derek Redmond and Jason Gardner MBE, Surrey and England batsman Mark Butcher, UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl, Leicestershire County Cricket Club CEO Wasim Khan MBE, Paralympic shot putter Vanessa Daobry and Channel 4 Paralympics host, Ade Adepitan MBE.
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