10 Jan 2012
New sports legacy strategy announced
BY Pete Hayman
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and Sport England have announced details of a new five-year youth and community strategy in a bid to create a participation legacy from the 2012 Games.
The initiative will see more than £1bn of National Lottery and Exchequer funding invested in boosting the number of people taking part in grassroots sport between 2012 and 2017.
As part of the strategy, every secondary school across England is to host a community sports club and £10m is earmarked for opening up school facilities to wider public use.
Meanwhile, county sports partnerships will receive more resources to establish effective links between schools and sports in the community and support national governing bodies.
Other funding commitments include a £40m local sport fund to help local authorities improve provision and an additional £100m in new facilities for some of the most popular sports.
Sport England chief executive Jennie Price said: "Changing the sporting behaviour of a generation is a major challenge which has not been achieved by any other Olympic host nation.
"With a new focus on young people and an even tougher, government-backed, regime of payment by results, Sport England and its partners are determined to deliver."
British Cycling chief executive Ian Drake said: "We look forward to continuing to work closely with Sport England on turning these plans into reality under the new strategy outlined today."
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive David Collier added: "This very much mirrors cricket's own strategy to get more young people playing at school and in clubs and keep them involved in the game."
Details: www.sportengland.org
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