England and Worcestershire cricketer Moeen Ali has announced a charity partner to help him build a substantial cricket legacy programme for communities in Birmingham & the West Midlands.

Sport Legacy Foundation has signed an agreement with the England cricketer at a special cricket breakfast in central Birmingham on Friday 14th September hosted by law firm Squire Patton Boggs. The agreement will ensure that the Foundation and Moeen Ali, as well as his expert cricketing family, build on the region’s potential in cricket by offering coaching and competition at the Foundation’s ground in Yardley and throughout Birmingham.

Sport Legacy Foundation will have a remit to help realise the growth potential of cricket in the region. The Foundation has a proven track record having established the Sport for Life International programme as a legacy programme of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 and delivered weekly coaching, healthy lifestyle and leadership sessions throughout the academic year to more than 16,000 students aged 8 – 18 in Birmingham, Pakistan and the West Indies.

The Foundation will also be guided in the development of the cricket legacy programme by Kabir Ali, the former England and Lancashire player, as well as Munir and Kadeer Ali, Moeen’s father and brother who have supported him throughout his brilliant career, along with Gulfraz Riaz, Chair of the National Asian Cricket Council.

Moeen Ali said: “It is vitally important that Sport Legacy Foundation and I deliver on the trust that has been placed in me by communities in Birmingham and work to create significant opportunities for them throughout the wider city region. In doing so, we will be in a position to contribute fully to the debate regarding opportunities for change in the way cricket is delivered nationally especially amongst South Asian communities.“

Lord Richard Newby, Sport Legacy Foundation chair said: “Moeen’s choice of Sport Legacy Foundation shows the ambition he has for communities in Birmingham and the West Midlands to be offered the opportunity of playing cricket. His cricketing achievements are of the highest order, as has been shown in the recent Test Series against India and in Saturday’s T20 Finals, and this will be of huge advantage going forward.”

“He will also be key to demonstrating that the region deserves greater support for its cricket and sport programmes, especially amongst South Asian communities. With the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 followed by the Commonwealth Games in 2022 and working closely with the National Asian Cricket Council, we are sure that Moeen will win support for his legacy programme from lead organisations.”

Nick Green, managing partner of Squire Patton Boggs in Birmingham, said: “We are delighted to support Moeen Ali and Sport Legacy Foundation and look forward to continuing to work with them on this significant project.”

For further information contact:

Jane S. Power Chief Executive,
Sport Legacy Foundation Building 2,
30 Friern Park North Finchley,
London N12 9DA, UK
jane@sportforlifeinternational.org
M: +44 (0) 7557 551508