For the first time Sport England will be directly funding five disability sports organisations to advise, support and guide other sports bodies as they create opportunities for participation by disabled people.

The five organisations will be British Blind Sport, Cerebral Palsy Sport, Dwarf Sport Association UK, British Wheelchair Sport and UK Deaf Sport.

In total, these organisations will receive £1.1 million ($1.7 million) of National Lottery funding while an additional £1.5 million ($2.4 million) of Exchequer funding will be awarded to the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) to accelerate its strategy to increase sports participation by disabled people.

Sport England chairman Richard Lewis, said: "Our goal is to get many more disabled people playing sport and we can only achieve this through a changed approach - one where sports bodies integrate the sport on offer to disabled and non-disabled people as far as possible.

"The investment we're announcing today will ensure that those on the frontline of grassroots sport have easy access to the expertise they need to make this happen."

Currently one in 15 disabled adults play sport regularly compared to one in six of the overall population.

EFDS chair Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, who claimed 11 Paralympic gold medals in a glittering career, said: "The investment recognises the incredible passion and expertise which underpins the disability sports organisations.

"Together, we will be able to help those involved in delivering sport to engage more disabled people so that they can gain the very real and often life changing benefits which sport can bring.

"The timing could not be better to make sure disabled people will get the chance to benefit directly from the 2012 Paralympics and beyond.

"I know from my own experience that disabled people can benefit tremendously from sport and physical activity if the conditions are put in place to make sport genuinely inclusive.

"I am confident that EFDS and the National Disability Sports Organisations will work in partnership with Sport England to deliver an impressive return on this investment."

To improve the way expertise on disability sport is shared, EFDS will now act as a single point of contact for national governing bodies of sport and other sporting groups.

The organisation will pull in impairment-specific information, support and advice from the other five disability organisations and help ensure a consistent approach.

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