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British industry has signalled its
intention to fully support British sportsmen and women through
a new business initiative. The FTSE-British Olympic Association
initiative will partner 33 FTSE 100 companies with 33 National
Governing Bodies of Olympic Sports in order to transfer skills
and knowledge to accelerate each sport governing body’s organisational
development and governance structures.
Initiated by Lord Moynihan,
Chairman of the BOA, and working with FTSE Group, the global index
provider, the FTSE–BOA Initiative is designed to support the BOA’s
aspirational goal of fourth place for Team GB in the London 2012
Olympics medal table. The initiative will help the National Governing
Bodies (NGBs) to develop into world class, autonomous organisations
in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Vancouver
2010 Olympic Winter Games and the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Each participating FTSE
100 company will provide skills and knowledge transfer to a particular
NGB in order to accelerate their organisational development. Each
company benefits through internal staff development and motivation.
Ten NGBs and FTSE companies
have formally agreed to form partnerships: Corus - triathlon;
Skandia - biathlon; British Gas - hockey; Land Securities - volleyball;
GlaxoSmithKline - boxing; British Airways - snowsportGB; SAB Miller
- fencing; Wolseley - gymnastics; Home Retail Group – badminton,
as well as Group 4 Securicor - judo.
In addition, a number of
partnerships are in the final stages of negotiation and given
the level of interest and engagement so far, the BOA is confident
that partners will be identified for all NGBs.
Speaking about the initiative
Lord Moynihan commented, The BOA is delighted that so many FTSE
100 companies have agreed to support British Sport. Elite performance
is business driven; the NGBs and the athletes, just like successful
businessmen and women, have to deliver results, be it support
services, a top contract or an Olympic medal. These partnerships
will provide an exchange of values and best practices, which I
am sure, will be beneficial for both worlds. The BOA has already
profited from assistance from AstraZeneca, who have seconded Vice
President Bev Salt to help us set up and run what promises to
be a very successful initiative.”
Said Mark Makepeace, Chief
Executive of FTSE Group, " FTSE applauds the passion and
pursuit of excellence that British Olympians and hopefuls exhibit.
Every day, finance professionals look to FTSE for the tools they
need to support strategies in the management of their investment
portfolios. In the same way, athletes and their associations are
looking to Britain’s blue chips to provide them with the tools
they need to achieve their goals. Support from FTSE 100 companies
will help to strengthen British athletes by empowering them to
develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed. ”
Commented International
Olympic Committee Member Kevan Gosper, “This is an excellent initiative
that has enthused me from the very first time I heard about it.
I strongly believe that it has immense potential and that it could
also be greatly beneficial for other regions and intend to roll
out a similar partnership programme in Oceania. The BOA should
be commended on leading the rest of the world.”
The FTSE–BOA initiative
is not a sponsorship programme, and does not include the granting
of any Olympic intellectual property rights to the companies.
Benefits to the company are, primarily, in the area of corporate
responsibility and internal staff development and motivation.
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