Analysis: Sport - Off street corners and onto the playing field

After 11 September 2001, changing people's attitudes to race and culture took on a new urgency and not just in seats of government. At Lancaster YMCA, staff noticed a marked increase in racist language aimed at Bengali boys by their White peers after the attacks on the World Trade Center. The charity's solution was to use football to stamp out the racism. It was a risky strategy, admits Phil McGrath, chief executive of Lancaster YMCA.

Common interest

In the past, competitive sport has been deemed elitist and demoralising - George Orwell described it as "war minus the shooting". But the Lancaster experience has shown the benefits that sport can play in bringing people together who consider themselves to have nothing in common. "We knew both groups were into football," recalls McGrath. "Rather than say it's Bengali lads against English lads, we mixed the teams up, which meant they had to communicate. There were risks involved, but we felt football was a great leveller."