Sport, to coin a phrase, has become a political football. Our elected representatives feel the need to intervene in everything from local swimming baths to the fate of Premiership managers.

Now John Greenway is entering this arena as shadow spokesman for culture, media and sport. It is a high-profile and potentially precarious post. But the Ryedale MP should prove up to the challenge.

He has been limbering up for the job for some time, landing several blows on Home Secretary Jack Straw as the Tories' front bench spokesman for home affairs. And his enthusiasm and knowledge of sport, particularly football, equip him well for the task.

Importantly, Mr Greenway's experience of sport is at the impecunious end of the league. That contrasts sharply with the New Labour Cabinet, whose sporting allegiances are generally with glamorous and wealthy Premiership clubs.

Tony Blair, as we have been constantly reminded, is a Newcastle United supporter. Health and Agriculture Secretaries, Alan Milburn and Nick Brown, are thought to share this loyalty.

Elsewhere in Whitehall there is such support for high-flying Arsenal that Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was moved to complain. Gunners fans include sports minister Kate Hoey and Culture Secretary Chris Smith. York-born Frank Dobson, a candidate for London Mayor, has nailed his claret and blue colours to West Ham's mast. Mr Greenway, meanwhile, is a Minsterman. The current president of York City, he knows first-hand the difficulties of keeping a small club afloat.

As the likes of Newcastle United and Arsenal wallow in multi-million pound income from television rights and corporate sponsorship, teams like City must struggle to survive. Former policeman Mr Greenway also understands the problems of stadium security and hooliganism better than most.

The MP's new brief allows him to tackle many other sensitive issues, not least the Kick Racism Out Of Football campaign which continued to make news at York City today. We look forward to seeing Mr Hague's new signing in action.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.