Kate Osborne MP: One of the busiest and best weeks yet in my parliamentary life

It has been a brilliant week for football – with the Lionesses winning the Euros and then closer to home this huge investment in our local grassroots football club that will improve the lives of thousands of local kids (and their families)

This plan has been months in the making and I’ve enjoyed every step of the way, from bringing the Minister up to Hebburn, to taking Hebburn FC to Parliament to meet the Secretary of State Lisa Nandy, Minister for Sport Stephanie Peacock and of course the Minister for Local Growth Alex Norris, who came to the constituency again this week to make this announcement.

Back in February the Minister’s office came to Hebburn FC to meet with me, local community reps and local businesses from small high street shops to large companies like AP Tyne, Siemens and Hitachi. At that meeting we discussed what investment in Hebburn could look like, with the discussion focusing on the need to invest in the shopping centre, tackle ASB, ensure we have green spaces and everyone in that meeting spoke about the need to invest in Hebburn FC – I am beyond delighted that thanks to the months of hard work the ministers office agreed to invest £10million in our Hebburn town.

Hebburn FC is already a real community asset, reaching many local families, this funding is not just about football, it will help the whole community, will increase opportunities and health benefits for our children, and residents of all ages. The new pitches will be able to be played on all day and all year-round, allowing for an increase in participation with more teams, training sessions, matches, tournaments and other activities.

This project will create local jobs, with the changes to the facilities and grounds and bring new job opportunities with the need for new staff for roles such as facility management, coaching, event coordination, hospitality, and administrative support.

This is real investment into our communities under this Government, and it is something that I am proud to have led on, as your Member of Parliament.

Of course this investment is not in isolation; we have seen £20million funding for Jarrow through the towns fund and £10 Million announced to be invested in South Shields.

I love working with clubs in my constituency, Gateshead FC, Jarrow, and South Shields FC – are all community hubs, Gateshead FC are investing in the Gateshead International Stadium and have a brilliant arrangement with the college to encourage their Under 19 teams, South Shields FC do lots in the community, host a monthly business forum, charity events, they give tickets away to local schools every match and had nearly 4,000 locals watching their game against Sunderland.

I was at the friendly match last night Hebburn Town vs South Shields, it was lovely to see both teams and our community come together.

Football is a brilliant equaliser, it crosses class divides, it unites people from all walks of life, it fosters a sense of community and helps tackle loneliness, and it helps push for social change from grassroots youth programmes to the Lionesses win footballs influence is felt far beyond the pitch.

It is brilliant that we’ve brought the Euros trophy home again, it brings more women and girls to the game, playing and watching at all levels. It gives people hope, aspirations, and role models – encouraging women and girls to get involved – women’s football is leading the way. Not just on the pitch, but in the community it creates – across all the teams that played in the Euros, there are at least 78 openly LGBTQ+ players and coaches. It is not immune to the pressures of society of course and we all saw the racism that Jess Carter and Michelle Agyeman faced as well as homophobia from some national newspapers yet Women's football is streets ahead, with few openly LGBT Men playing football, regular racist and homophobic chants on the terrace they still have a long way to go before becoming a more inclusive space.

I’ve worked with organisations like Kick it Out and Show Racism the Red Card for decades, to see our work delivering change is something I am hugely proud of – but nothing could beat the feeling of announcing £2million for our Hebburn FC – something that many said I would never achieve.

I want to thank the club and particularly Stephen Rutherford for all his work and acknowledgement – I am so excited to see the plans come to life and I hope you are too.