"We want to transform the face of British sport"

- Sebastian Coe after London won the 2012 Games in Singapore

"There is no clear evidence that large-scale events, including Olympic

and Paralympic Games, encourage people to become more active in sport"

- Department of Media, Culture and Sport, London 2012 legacy research report

On July 6th 2005, London revelled in the triumph of winning the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The British bid had defeated competition from New York to Madrid, and the country bathed in the warm Olympic glow. A promise of sporting inspiration to young people around the country had been made, and the countdown to 2012 was on.

All, though, was not as promised. Grassroots activity is the lifeblood of British sport. Competitors from athletics’ Kelly Holmes to tennis star Andy Murray emerged from the grassroots, but now the 2012 Games threatens to overshadow the development of young UK athletes. With four years until the eyes of the world fall on London, grassroots sport is being starved of the vital funding that runs community sport. The chance to create a sporting legacy could be dashed by the Olympic adventure. The starting pistol has been fired, and the race is on…but is London 2012 playing Russian Roulette with grassroots sport?

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FEATURING IN "A GRASSROOTS GAMBLE":

- Money matters...the funding behind grassroots sport....

- Catch up with the news from the Grassroots Grapevine....

- Is London 2012 a false dawn?...

- A London Legacy - what will remain for UK grassroots sport post 2012?...