Team 2012 seeks SME backers
British Olympic chiefs are calling on small and medium sized businesses to help raise the £25m needed to support British athletes at the 2012 London Games.
The joint venture run by the British Olympic Association, British Paralympic Association, UK Sport and LOCOG will ask 750 firms to pay up to £10,000 over the next two years.
It is hoped the Our Team 2012 initiative will raise £15m.
In return, businesses will receive access to hospitality events, tickets to sporting events and the chance to meet athletes.
Contributing firms will also receive seminars, insight and training.
The project aims to provide a third stream of revenue from the private sector in addition to the backing given by the National Lottery and the Government.
London Olympic bosses are currently half way to raising the £25m they want to help fund coaching, training and competition support for Team 2012.
Private sector funding to date has come from Visa, which signed as a “presenting partner” in September 2009.
Hugh Robertson, minister for sport and Olympics, says: “As Government, we have committed substantial exchequer and lottery funding for our elite athletes in the run up to 2012 but it has never been more important, given the difficult economic situation we’re in, to have business behind our athletes.
