This is an open letter to anyone interested in sport development within the borough.

Not so long ago, I was catching up with family in Edmonton and I had the pleasure of watching my nine-year-old cousin participate in his weekly tennis training session at Hazelwood Sports Club in Winchmore Hill. His development has come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of months and I give him, his coaches and his sports club the highest praise for their work.

My letter, however, is about the people who do not have these opportunities and how they should be given the chance, or at least be helped to get to sports centres, clubs and other development strands.

I find it very worrying that the sporting development is being sacrificed for budget from the heights of the Government and cuts from sporting governing bodies, I understand that some cuts are unavoidable and cannot be stopped but events like the Olympics, Wimbledon and the World Cup, inspire people to try and have an active participation and progress in all respective sports that they love.

I am a referee and have been actively involved in football since I first started playing in 2005. I am ambitious to get to the top of refereeing.

I would like to push for members of all political parties, council officers and anybody else with the ambition to try to develop the borough’s sporting development to get involved.

I welcome any contact through email – Deryll14@hotmail.com – and hope that our councillors take me up on my offer to try and push sporting development within our local area.

Deryll David

Chairman of Amateur Football Alliance Youth Council