The project aims to ensure Londoners of all ages and abilities have access to sporting opportunities. The founding partners - the Mayor, Active Communities Network, Community Action Zone and Nike - have created SSCN London because in the belief that sport has the power to make a positive difference to people's lives. The impact of SSCN funded projects will be monitored in the hope they will provide evidence that this is, in fact, so.
SSCN London aspires to be "sitting at the centre of a genuine community sports legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games." Which makes Nike's involvement interesting, given Adidas are the official 2012 Olympic sportswear sponsor. Nike are funding SSCN London to the tune of £200,000 - a sum that has been matched by money from the Mayor's Olympic sport legacy pot. Officially, of course, Nike's ticks aren't allowed anywhere near the elite arena of the Olympics so it's good to see their money going into an Olympic legacy scheme, supporting grassroots project that will hopefully be of real benefit to Londoners way past 2012.
Young basketballers in Brent, the Sutton Mencap football team and users of Selhurst Astro Turf are some of the early beneficiaries. SSCN London is already operating in Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Lambeth, Southwark and Sutton and the aim is to have it active in every borough within a couple of years.
