Culture Secretary urges private sector to back the nation's sportsmen and women

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, commenting on the Chancellor Gordon Brown's recent Budget statement, has urged private sector firms to provide support for the UK's sportsmen and women. “Gordon Brown’s announcement creates exactly the right environment for our young sportsmen and women to prosper in Beijing in 2008 and at our own Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012", she said. Ms. Jowell, who is Olympics Minister and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, went on: "This funding will allow UK Sport and our governing bodies to set in motion the most ambitious programme we’ve ever seen in this country for spotting talent and turning it into medal success on the world stage. We have all been thrilled by the achievements of competitors from the UK in Melbourne and with this new funding we can prepare for an even brighter future with many more gold medals to celebrate." The minister emphasised the role of private firms in providing support, saying that she hoped that the private sector "will rise to the challenge and join us in this important work to produce the right conditions for our nation’s sportsmen and women to thrive – seeing the many benefits such success will bring for them and the UK". Ms. Jowell made the point that support was needed at all levels: "... we are not just focussing on elite athletes", she said. "We will be investing additional money at grassroots level in the UK School Games – an annual event that will give young people a taste of the Olympic and Paralympic experience – and we will be announcing more details shortly."   E&OE