HE has been a champion of sport in Glasgow for more than 30 years. 

Now, Alexander Watt has plenty to shout about after netting the royal seal of approval in the New Year Honours list. 

The 75-year-old has been named an MBE in recognition for his dedication to young people with additional needs and disabilities. 

The West End man founded sports club Glasgow Eagles in 1988 and has since provided opportunities to thousands of youngsters in the city. 

“I am delighted and it came as a right surprise,” Alec, pictured right inset, said. “I always believed a lot of folk have untapped talent and you need to find the right thing to offer them. 

“You just need to find the right activity for the right person and then they can take off.

“My background is in social work for more than 30 years and I realised when I was in there that there was a need for people with disabilities to have something to do in their spare time.

“I was involved in sport with social work and wanted to develop this further. We started off just offering table tennis, badminton, and basketball, and it has snowballed. 

From its humble beginnings, Glasgow Eagles now offers a whole range of sports for youngsters, including horse riding, canoeing, and sailing. 

Such has been the club’s impact, several of their basketball players competed at the 2007 Shanghai Special Olympics and many others have gone on to enjoy success. 

“A number of folk have gone on to do very well,” Alec, who has had to put many of the club’s activities on ice due to the restrictions of the pandemic, said. “Some do it as a recreational activity which helps to get them out of the house.

“Some of them even find they can go onto a higher level and move onto British Championships and World Championships. Everyone finds their level and has the opportunity.” 

Alec's dedication to the city’s young people has been recognised with a number of gongs in recent years, including at the Glasgow Times’ Community Champion Glasgow Awards Grand Final in 2018.

READ MORE: Glasgow Community Champions 2018: Our wonderful winners

The father-of-one and grandfather-of-one was also given a lifetime achievement award from Glasgow Life last year. 

“I am delighted to get the MBE,” he added. “But not particularly for my own benefit but for the club and for the hard work that everyone has put in. There are also a number of organisations that have been very helpful to us over the years.”