FORMER Dunfermline football manager and player Jim Leishman is to stand as a Labour candidate in May's local council elections.
A highly popular figure in the football world, Mr Leishman has the backing of ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown and former First Minister Henry McLeish.
Mr Brown, MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, said he was a "local hero" whose commitment to sport and young people and to Fife was well known across Scotland.
"Jim has inspired generations of young people and he will be a fantastic ambassador for Dunfermline at Fife Council and I'm proud to endorse his candidature," he said.
Mr Leishman, currently director of football at Dunfermline Football Club and who has been named as Labour's sports champion in Fife, will be stand in Dunfermline Central.
He said: "I want to begin a sporting revolution that will give our young people better chances, deal with social problems, help our young people feel part of communities and build on Fife's great sporting tradition.
"We need to put our sports facilities to better use and get every school involved in our sporting revolution."
Mr McLeish a former MP and MSP for Central Fife said: "I look forward to working alongside Jim over the coming weeks and months to deliver a sporting revolution in the Kingdom."
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