Voice of Jewish sport

NO ONE can argue with Dean Furman being crowned the Maccabi GB Senior Sportsperson of the Year, as he is the best Jewish sportsperson in the UK right now. A star for his country, the midfielder has already played at a top-class international football event; the African Nations Cup at the start of the year, and was integral in South Africa’s 1-0 win over Spain last week. Three days later, he was scoring his first goal for Doncaster in their 2-1 win over Yeovil, (although the less said about what followed – him getting sent-off, the better). While being named Sportsperson of the Year on Sunday may not rate as highly in terms of sporting achievement, it does though reflect on his fantastic accomplishment. On top of all that, he has his feet firmly on the ground, is articulate in what he says, and is anything but the stereotypical ‘flash’ footballer. From starring on the world stage for Bafana Bafana, on Sunday, the it’s been quite a week.

THE FIRST event of the Board of Deputies’ Young Professional Group takes place on 12 December, with the guest speaker being Alex Fynn. The former vice-chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, he has also worked with the Football League, FA, and was influential in the setting up of the Premier League. With a host of football books to his name too, what he doesn’t know about Arsenal or Spurs isn’t worth knowing. The event is free of charge and includes dinner. Email james.martin@bod.org.uk for more details.

ISRAELI basketball star Omri Casspi spent the first night of Chanukah last night at The White House. The Houston Rockets star was invited to the candle lighting reception by Obama Barack, and came just 24 hours after Casspi scored 16 points in the Rockets’ 93-86 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.