Olympic cuts to be revealed

Dec 2 2008

Sports chiefs will decide on Tuesday which Olympic sports will have funding cuts in the run-up to the London 2012 Games.

UK Sport's board will meet to allocate the budget - and where to make the savings to cover a £79million funding shortfall. Both the British Olympic Association and the shadow Olympics minister Hugh Robertson have called on the Government to honour their original commitment to £100million a year for Olympic sports.

Robertson said: "Fielding the best possible team is just about the most important priority for the whole Olympics - the public will judge the success of the Games on the number of British medals and not on how beautiful the roof on the swimming baths looks."

Up to 11 Olympic sports and numerous Paralympic sports face a cut in their income as UK Sport are certain to follow a no-compromise approach to focus cash on sports where medals are likely, rather than giving cash to others to make them more competitive.

Athletics, which underperformed in Beijing, is likely to have reduced funding but it will not be affected to the extent of expensive team sports such as handball, basketball, hockey and volleyball.

Fencing, shooting, table tennis, water polo, weightlifting and wrestling are also understood to be vulnerable.

UK Sport remain adamant that no exceptions will be made for athletics just because it is the most high-profile of the Olympic sports.

The funding gap has arisen because the Government's plan of attracting private sector investment has so far failed to bring in any money at all.

Robertson said there were a number of ways in which the Government could find the money, such as by changing Lottery tax rules, and said the importance of a successful British team in London could not be over-stressed.

He added: "This is a higher priority than expensive building projects around the Olympic Park."