Even those with no passion whatsoever for football would struggle to deny that the World Cup has generated a massive amount of interest in sporting competition for its own sake.

The goings-on in South Africa have brought out of the woodwork whole legions of occasional soccer fans and countless armchair pundits, every one of them an expert and all with a level of understanding of the finer points of the game which have rarely been expressed in the context of Bradford City, Farsley Celtic or any other local team.

That, of course, is the nature of top-level sporting events: they have the capacity to spark amazing degrees of fascination, comment and debate.

It is that capacity, of course, which Lord Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee, is counting on for the success of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the capital in 2012. And if the excitement around his visit to Bradford yesterday is anything to go by then he will have no trouble achieving it among the young people of this country.

And rightly so. Sport is a fantastic way to energise and engage young people and Lord Coe, as a supreme athlete in his own right, is a brilliant ambassador for it. Bradford, like every other town and city in the country, needs to grasp the opportunity the Olympic Games presents and use it to help shape a healthier and more positive future for our children and grandchildren.

It could be a long time before we get another chance like it.