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Sports Betting

I concur with the hon. Gentleman. Some players at that level end up in the championship or the premiership. I saw a match in the former when at least three or four players came from that level. Some also come in from Sunday league football and go on to become stars. We must encourage that in this country. The all-party group has suggested that the number of foreign players might need to be limited. We need to get the money down to the minor leagues, to encourage those young people with skills, but, at the same time, they must be educated. Youth academies help them with their schooling, so that if anything goes wrong, such as a bad injury, they can move on and develop other skills that they have learned—a talent for law or business, for example. The opportunity is there to combine with the betting industry and say, "Look, here are worthwhile causes where we can support grass-roots sport." The Minister might be tempted to take over that area and develop it very quickly to the benefit of sport in this country. The education and thrill that young people get from sport can be imparted into schools. Youth academy players go out into schools and bring the better players back into the academy. It could be so exciting. Our fetish for the four big clubs will not do football any good. By widening perceptions, we might also address the essential problem about intellectual property. I am involved with writing and films and so on. Intellectual property is a big concept now. There are lawyers who work in that field alone. The rights are important not only to science, medicine, new discoveries and books, but to the skills in the sporting world as well. We have to protect such skills. Betting industries, associations and sports' governing bodies should combine to form a taskforce to ensure that the whole sport gets the whack that it needs to develop and remain safe for the future.