FTSE 100 Companies Supporting Olympic Sport
14 Feb 2007
London, 14 February, 2007: 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. Individual media briefings for a selection of the finalised arrangements are attached.
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.”
Notes to Editors:
FTSE-British Olympic Association Initiative Endorsements
Richard Lambert, CBI Director-General, said:
"British sporting success makes the whole nation feel proud and business is no exception. Through this initiative Britain's world-beating businesses will be able to provide valuable expertise and advice to our national sporting bodies as they work to generate similar success on the sports field."
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.
Please contact Getty Images for photos from the launching: Tel: +44 (0)800 376 7981, sales@gettyimages.co.uk, http://creative.gettyimages.com/source/home/home.aspx.
About the British Olympic Association: The BOA’s role is to lead our nation’s finest athletes at, as well as prepare them for, the summer, winter and youth Olympic Games. Working with the Olympic Governing Bodies, the BOA selects Team GB from the best sportsmen and women who will go on to compete in the 28 summer (Beijing 2008) and 7 winter (Vancouver 2010) Olympic sports. In addition, the BOA delivers extensive support services to Britain’s Olympic athletes and their National Governing Bodies throughout each Olympic cycle to assist them in their preparations to achieve their full potential in the Olympic environment. The BOA also has the responsibility for developing the Olympic Movement throughout the UK.
About FTSE Group: FTSE Group is a world-leader in the creation and management of indexes. With offices in Beijing, London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Madrid, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Shanghai and Tokyo, FTSE Group services clients in 77 countries worldwide. It calculates and manages the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, which includes world-recognized indexes ranging from the FTSE All-World Index, the FTSE4Good series and the FTSEurofirst Index series, as well as domestic indexes such as the prestigious FTSE 100. FTSE indexes are used extensively by investors world-wide for investment analysis, performance measurement, asset allocation, portfolio hedging and for creating a wide range of index tracking funds.
For further information, please contact:
BOA Press Office: Miriam Wilkens on 07768 775 762 or Louisa Huddy on 07789 658798, Miriam.wilkens@boa.org.uk or Louisa.huddy@boa.org.uk.
FTSE Group Press Office: Jo Mayall/ Sabrina Bhangoo on 020 7866 1821, media@ftse.com.