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England football coach provides a big ray of ‘Hope’ at UEL Sports Awards

Thursday 7 June 2012

Hope Powell

(Hope Powell pictured with Selena Bolingbroke, UEL Pro Vice-Chancellor)

UEL’s annual Sports Awards proved a fitting occasion for England women’s national football team coach, Hope Powell CBE, to be presented with a Lifetime Achievement award and Honorary Doctorate of Arts.

In what has been UEL’s most successful sporting year to date, the recent awards staged at West Ham United Football Club, showcased and celebrated the fantastic sporting achievements of UEL’s students and staff over the past year through a range of individual and team award categories.

In the Service to Sport category, Natalie Campbell was recognised for her tireless work behind the scenes as Club Captain of UEL’s Boat Club, which scooped six medals in this year’s British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Regatta – its best ever tally. In the same category, Dwain Bowman, President and Coach of the UEL Volleyball Club, was lauded for his dedication and enthusiasm.

Inevitably, it was untroubled waters for UEL’s Boat Club in the Club of the Year Category. Craig Heskey, newly appointed Football Club captain, triumphed in the Sports Personality of the Year, while there was special recognition for Newham Council as Most Valued Partner for its work in tackling health inequalities and support for UEL’s new £21million sports facility, SportsDock.

Szandra Szogedi’s career defining performance and bronze medal in the 2012 African Judo Championships ensured she came away with the Achievement of the Year award. The elite sports athlete and journalism student also came up trumps in the International Excellence category alongside fellow judo star, Sophie Cox, and Asghar Nasimi, who is a  British Paralympic senior sitting volleyball player.

However, the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for Hope Powell as she took to the stage to receive the Lifetime Achievement award. Speaking to a captivated audience, the former England international and Head Coach of the Team GB women’s Olympic football team, said: “This is a great honour; I cannot thank the people who decided to give me this honour enough. It is fantastic for me personally and women’s football in general. I am really hoping the London 2012 Games will help kick-start something for women’s football and other sports.

“I’m aware that UEL has a serious ambition to become the number one university for sport in London by 2015. My advice is to keep attracting the best athletes and to keep promoting your fantastic sporting facilities to prospective students.”

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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