It has taken some time for the Opposition sports spokesperson to emerge from the shadows of Westminster but the amiable Clive Efford has now done so with some style.

With the current sports Minister Helen Grant keeping a relatively low profile, her Parliamentary spar-mate took the opportunity to raise his own with a timely keynote speech to the well-attended "sports summit" organised by the Sport and Recreation Alliance (S&RA) at Chelsea FC last week. And very impressive he was too.

An interesting chap, Efford, who if his friend Ed Miliband gets the electoral nod in 11 months time is very likely to be Britain's next sports Minister, has some street cred. A lifelong Millwall supporter and qualified football coach, the MP for Eltham in Kent is also that rarity - a former London cabbie with left wing views.

He clearly has a decent grasp of sport at grass roots level, as he demonstrated when addressing the assembled representatives of Britain's governing bodies. But we have yet to see how combative he is in dealing with sport's bigger wigs.

Clive Efford could well be Britain's next sports Minister, and he has some street cred to hold him in good stead if he is ©Getty Images



We recently bumped into former Tory sports Minister Hugh Robertson, now carrying the Middle East portfolio at the Foreign Office, and he laughed knowingly when we suggested that after wrangling with the FA and Premier League, sorting out Syria must be a doddle.

Until recently we had not heard a great deal about or from 47-year-old Efford, apart from the odd Westminster soundbite. Yet I suspect now that Labour's unlikely Games mistress Harriet Harman, the shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport, seems to be letting him off the leash, he will become a more significant player in the increasingly vexatious game of sports politics.

There was nothing particularly contentious in what he told the S&RA but his delivery was assured in proposing a fundamental change in the culture of sport in this country which "should be stitched into our everyday lives". It went down well.

He promises there will be no "hectoring or nagging" from him should he attain office. "I can tell you from personal experience that it does not work," says the ex-taxi driver who has done the knowledge and doubtless had his share of argumentative coves in the back of his black cab.

Any new Labour Government, says Effiord, would attempt to bring some stability and coherence to sports governance. "We have seen too much of a piecemeal approach. Some of it has been a nightmare - in particular for schools sport."

He says there has to be a philosophical change towards physical education. "It should not be regarded as a bit of a break between other subjects but a necessary part of the core curriculum."

He clearly has spent some time not only doing his homework but his roadwork, assessing the needs of community sport in the drive for  greater participation. It is ridiculous, he reckons, that after hosting an Olympic Games Britain should be lagging in this direction. Well, we all agree on that.

Not too much headline-grabbing material there, though Efford does pledge that under Labour the bookies would have a harder time of it.

The betting industry will come under close scrutinty from a Labour Government, Clive Efford has pledged ©AFP/Getty Images



The betting industry, he says, would come under much closer scrutiny. "I find it immoral that an industry can make so much money out of sport and put so little back into it. There is an argument that their money should be used to tackle the problem of excessive gambling in sport and for investment into grass root activities."

He is also worried about the proliferating amount of alcohol advertising which seems to be "smothering" sport. "It concerns me when I see cheap packs of alcohol being been advertised in association with sport. There has to be a sensible dialogue about this. I advise the alcohol companies not to make the same mistakes as gambling."

Should Labour win next May obviously it will be "taxi for Mrs Grant" as Efford moves into her Whitehall office at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

But there is some speculation that the present sports Minister, installed only eight months ago, might be moved to a more senior role overseeing equalities and women's issues in the coming Government reshuffle.

I think it unlikely but should it happen there are at least two other interesting candidates for the job - both women. One is fight fan Charlotte Leslie, the feisty chair of the All Parliamentary Boxing Group, and the other Tracey Crouch, who, like Efford, is a qualified Football Association coach. She manages an all-girls team.

My guess is that Grant, who despite those early gaffes has done a quietly efficient job, will stay until May, although from now on she may find herself under somewhat less friendly fire from her opposite number.

There is speculation surrounding the future of current sports Minister Helen Grant, but she is likely to stay in post until the general election ©Getty Images for Sport England



Last week's Chelsea gathering also saw something of a 'comeback' for the S&RA itself, which like Efford, has been rather in the shadows of late.

Once the CCPR (Central Council of Physical Recreation), it seemed to have become increasingly anachronistic since the heady and purposeful days of the late and much lamented Nigel Hook, a genial genius of sports politics.

What has always regarded itself as sport's own "Parliament" had lost its way a bit, slipping under the radar of the public consciousness. Excluding the media from its annual meeting last year because there were "private matters" to be discussed was not its brightest move.

Some critics suggested it was showing a questionable political bias under new rugby-playing chairman Andy Reed, a former Labour MP. Hugh Robertson certainly thought so.

But there are indications that it can regain its former status as sport's most effective "ginger group".

It is soon to appoint a new chief executive to succeed former England and Wales Cricket Board chief Tim Lamb, who has retired. Leading contender is lively acting chief executive Sallie Barker, who is among the growing galaxy of female talent in sports administration led by Liz Nichol and Debbie Jevans.

The S&RA represents over 300 sports bodies from bowls to bridge, football to tchouckball, and activities like movement and dance and cheerleading. But in terms of sports governance it is overshadowed by the two Government-funded bodies, UK Sport and Sport England, and the independent British Olympic Association.

The body's raison d'etre is fighting sport's corner from all angles, notably organising campaigns aimed at supporting the sporting community on varying issues like the work of volunteers, tax, VAT, betting in sport, playing fields, women's sport, planning permissions, the increase in police charges at sports events and licensing matters.

The conference at which Efford spoke included a valuable debate on match-fixing after the S&RA had highlighted the Government's disinclination to criminalise the offence, citing situations where despite strong evidence there has been "no appetite" for prosecutions.

It is good to see the erstwhile champion of sport punching its weight again.

But one thing still concerns me. Out of the assembly of 140 those from the ethnic minorities, who play such a major role in active sport, could be counted on the fingers of one hand - actually on one finger if you excluded the media. Alas, it was ever thus.

Hopefully the community-conscious Efford will agree that this is an issue which needs to be seriously addressed should he become the next occupant of the Ministerial chair.

Alan Hubbard is an award-winning sports columnist for The Independent on Sunday and a former sports editor of The Observer. He has covered a total of 16 Summer and Winter Games, 10 Commonwealth Games, several football World Cups and world title fights from Atlanta to Zaire.