UK NGO the National Literacy Trust has appointed Frank Lampard, star footballer and currently mid-fielder for Manchester City Football Club, as a new ambassador for the Trust, “supporting our ongoing work to raise the profile of literacy in the UK and motivate disadvantaged children to read – an ambition he shares in his work as an author.”

Lampard said: “I am delighted to take up the role as an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust and help to further their work in supporting disadvantaged children across the UK to discover the joy of reading and develop their literacy skills. Reading should be a pleasure no matter what age you are.”

Simon Morgan, Head of Community Development with the UK Premier League added: “We have been working in partnership with the National Literacy Trust for over a decade and it continues to demonstrate how the Premier League and our players can have a positive impact on young people’s reading ability, particularly for young boys. To have someone with the profile and commitment to improving literacy like Frank Lampard on board as an Ambassador for the programme, can only help it go from strength to strength.”

Given the atrocious reading habits of many UK males, and the appalling levels of relative illiteracy in the lower tiers of British society, Lampard’s intervention can’t come quickly enough. Whether it will make any difference is another story – but the whole situation is so dire that almost anything has to be worth trying.

 

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