Brown pledges $350 million to athletes
Posted on 22 March 2006 - 21:51
Britain pledged an extra 200 million pounds ($350 million) to elite athletes on Wednesday in a bid to finish as high as fourth in the medals table when it hosts the 2012 Olympic Games.
It aims to be the top European nation, behind only the United States, China and Russia when the Games come to London.
The money was pledged in the annual budget by finance minister Gordon Brown, who said he would also push for another 100 million pounds to be provided by sponsorship from the private sector.
UK Sport, the body which distributes funding to top athletes, has previously said it needs 300 million pounds to have a realistic chance of Olympic glory.
It said on Wednesday it was delighted with Brown’s commitments.
“This announcement is … a major step forward,” said Chairwoman Sue Campbell in a statement. “It puts us well on the road to achieving our ultimate goals for 2012 and to leave a lasting legacy for performance sport in this country.”
Brown, who many political analysts say hopes to be prime minister by the time the Games come to London, delivered his 10th budget before a packed House of Commons.
“The 2012 Olympics will be a proud moment for London – and the whole of Britain,” he said to a loud cheer.
MEDAL HOPES
The government had come under pressure shortly after London won the right to host the Games with both UK Sport and the British Olympic Association (BOA) calling on Brown to announce exactly how much money he would give to athletes.
UK Sport currently receives a total of nearly 61 million pounds a year from the National Lottery and the Treasury. The extra money will allow them to fund every Olympic and Paralympic sport with the exception of football and tennis which are already well funded.
Britain aims to finish first in the Paralympic medal table.
The BOA said Brown’s announcement showed the government had understood the challenges.
“National governing bodies can now seek to employ the world’s best coaches and put together programmes that will create a system that will deliver success,” said the BOA’s Chief Executive Simon Clegg.
The International Olympic Association likes to see athletes from the host nation excel. It believes a good home performance helps capture the imagination of the local crowd and makes for a more thrilling atmosphere.
Beijing, which will host the 2008 Games, has said it is aiming to go one better than the performance in 2004 and finish first in the medal table.
Britain finished 10th at both Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. This followed a dismal performance in Atlanta in 1996 when it finished 36th with only one gold medal.
UK Sport responded to that in 1997 by giving elite athletes lottery money to train full time.