Mellor puts boot into footballers

BRITAIN'S highest-paid footballers, such as David Beckham and Paul Gascoigne, are being accused by the Government of not giving enough back to society.

The millionaire players, who are contractually obliged to carry out three hours of community-based work each week, will be told they must set an example to young people, to restore the sport's status as the "national game".

A report from the Football Task Force, to be published shortly, recommends that players should give up several days a year to coach schoolchildren.

The report has led to a furious exchange of letters between David Mellor, the head of the Task Force, and Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). Mr Taylor vigorously denied Mr Mellor's claims that players are failing in their duties. The Task Force's members, who include representatives of the main footballing bodies, are concerned that the sport's reputation is being undermined by the impression that players spend most of their spare time in pubs and nightclubs.

They want to restore the image of footballers as clean-living role models, to stop fans being alienated. Community service is seen as a very effective way to reverse the perception that the game is dominated by beer-swilling yobs.

Under the rules of the PFA, all footballers in the Premier League and the Football League are bound to do some community work each week in return for their huge salaries.

The template for all football contracts, the "Standard Blue Contract", includes clause 7(b): "The player agrees to be available for community involvement... at reasonable times during the contract". The suggested amount of time in the contract is two to three hours per week.

The PFA, which was responsible for the clause, set up a community programme in 1986, starting with a pilot scheme in the North-west. There are now more than 90 clubs or "units" involved, intending to integrate football clubs with ethnic minorities, the elderly and the disabled. Almost every club has a community officer.

Indeed, the PFA points to big-name players, past and present, who are heavily involved with charitable work.

Gary Lineker is the patron of a leukaemia charity, and Gary Mabbutt is identified with many diabetes charities. Alan Shearer, after winning pounds 10,000 recently in an award ceremony, donated the money to a charity, Children With Learning Difficulties. Last year Ian Wright launched a guns amnesty in London, and he even drew criticism from the England coach, Glenn Hoddle, for taking on "too much charity work".

David Ginola has taken over from the late Princess of Wales as a spokesperson for the international campaign against landmines, and like many others he gave his support to the people of Omagh, Northern Ireland, after the town was bombed earlier this year. He played in the Omagh Trust Fund friendly earlier this season between Derry City and a Select XI.

Much of the work undertaken by footballers is lower profile: hospital and school visits, attendance at charity galas and part-time coaching work. David James, the Liverpool goalkeeper, was in court last month for speeding - his defence argued that he "needed the car for charity work".

But the Task Force claims that these are the exception and that in practice few players do community service. Its report recommends that special coaching days should be set aside for footballers to go into schools and youth clubs to teach basic skills. These could be timed to coincide with international matches, when Premier League teams are not playing, so that the sportsmen have no excuses for not participating.

It also calls for coaches and managers to make it easier for players to make a contribution to their team's local area by planning specific stints of community service around matches and training.

It warns that if more is not done, people will become disillusioned with the sport and stop looking up to players. "Fans see them training in the morning, then going down the snooker hall or betting shop in the afternoon," one Whitehall source said. "That doesn't set a good example and is bad for the game. There's an anxiety that football needs a bit of a reminder that it has to do more for society if it's going to be the national game."

The Task Force also wants the Premier League of the most successful clubs to do more for smaller teams. The elite division will make pounds 670m from the broadcasting rights to its matches between 1997 and 2001 but it gives only around pounds 50m back to the sport - pounds 20m for training, pounds 20m to league clubs and pounds 10m to the PFA.

But Mr Taylor, angrily rebutted the Task Force accusations. "We think that forcing players to be role models can be an unfair burden. They're footballers, not bishops or MPs. Ask David Mellor which other union pays half a million pounds towards the community every year. And tell me which politician gives three hours every week for community service," he said.