Shorts: Azeem Rafiq, Fifpro, Birmingham 2022, Lv=insurance
Chair of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Julian Knight has called on the Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC) board to resign over the handling of the Azeem Rafiq investigation.
YCCC has come under scrutiny after they confirmed that no further action would be taken against any player, employee or executive after an investigation concluded that Rafiq was the victim of “racial harassment and bullying”. An additional story published by ESPN found that a racially offensive term used towards Rafiq was regarded as just “banter”.
Knight called it “one of the most repellent and disturbing episodes in modern cricket history” and added “given the endemic racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club, I struggle to think of any reason why that the board should remain in post.“
FIFPRO’s ‘Changing The Game’ podcast series has officially been launched. Produced by LiveWire Sport, who were Highly Commended in the Agency of the Year category at the Sport Industry Awards 2021, the series will feature some of the biggest names in the game, charting the development and growth of women’s football in an unfiltered, honest fashion.
Hosted by New Zealand captain Ali Riley, the eight-part series brings you the biggest stars of women’s football, as they review the evolution of the tournament and women’s football. Set against a backdrop of cultural and social transformation, each episode will focus on a different championship, going beyond the action on the pitch to uncover a revealing perspective.
The first episode of ‘Changing The Game’ is out now and features England’s Lucy Bronze. In her engaging interview, Bronze discusses a breakthrough career moment at the 2015 World Cup and the behind-the-scenes build-up when she scored the winning goal in England’s 2-1 win against Norway.
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has launched free online learning resources for primary schools, themed around the Queen’s Baton Relay.
Designed to provide learning opportunities both in the classroom and for at-home learning, the resources have been created for reception, key stage one, and key stage two. The activities are also linked to the curriculum, spanning English, Maths, Geography, Performing Arts, Art and Design, History, Computing, and Physical Education.
The Queen’s Baton Relay is a tradition that celebrates, connects, and excites communities from across the Commonwealth during the build up to the Games. It officially began on 7 October when Her Majesty The Queen placed her message to the Commonwealth into the Baton. The Queen’s Baton is now embarking on an incredible journey, visiting all 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth, before returning to the opening ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on 28 July 2022.
England cricket stars Stuart Broad and Dan Lawrence recently joined an East London-based grassroots cricket session as part of the LV= Insurance ‘In With Heart Tour’.
LV= Insurance is supporting grassroots cricket in Leyton and across the UK via the #Funds4Runs initiative – with the session run by Leyton Community Centre after they received a grant from the £1m pot jointly funded by LV= Insurance & the ECB.
This session focused on encouraging diverse social, cultural, and religious groups into cricket, with the community hub also running women’s, over 50s and local recreational cricket. The session hosted forty children from four local cricket clubs who had benefitted from the #Funds4Runs grant, including Lawrence’s former club Chingford Cricket Club.
