2012 Funding Cuts To Hit Medal Target
An expected announcement regarding funding cuts for Olympic athletes ahead of London 2012 could see a revision of the target for the medal table from fourth to eighth place.
Lord Moynihan, chairman of the British Olympic Association, made the stark prediction and called on the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to honour his original 2006 commitment of £100m a year for Olympic sports.
A £79m funding hole – almost £20m a year up to 2012 – has still to be filled because the Government’s plan of attracting private sector investment has so far failed to bring in any money at all.
‘We will be deeply disappointed this week if the Government move away from their commitment,’ Moynihan said. ‘To give our Olympic and Paralympic athletes the best chance of success in 2012 the full investment programme agreed by Gordon Brown when he was chancellor must be honoured in full.’
Moynihan, a former Conservative MP and Minister for Sport, said the BOA would continue to work to try to secure funding to ensure that the British team could maintain the fourth place it won at the Beijing Games last summer, but believed that it was the Treasury’s duty to make up the shortfall.
Moynihan also warned that the funding cuts would influence more than just the medal target.
He added: ‘It has serious implications for London’s ticketing policy for 2012 because a successful British team is essential to maximise ticket sales. Raising public participation in sport is also partly dependent on the success of Team GB and that will be damaged.’
