In 2006, the then Chancellor Gordon Brown announced £100 million of £600 million funding for Olympic sports in the years up to London 2012 would come from the private sector.

 

Culture secretary Andy Burnham announced in August a campaign called 'Medal Hopes' would be run by sports marketing firm Fast Track to target businesses but none have come on board.

 

The scheme was supposed to have four headline sponsors who would pay £4 million each, another four paying £1 million and 500 local firms across the country who would pay £40,000 each for the honour of being associated with Britain's leading sportsmen and women.

 

There was also due to be two media partners paying £1 million.

 

But after the funding shortfall was reduced to £50 million by Lottery cash and Government money, UK Sport have agreed to take it over.

 

They will also call on the expertise of London 2012 for help.

 

The organisation will now conduct a full review of the campaign - including the involvement of Fast Track and the name of the campaign - before deciding on a new programme.

 

UK Sport chair Sue Campbell admitted finding £50million could be a tall order.

 

She said: "It may not be the full £50million - it is a crowded landscape, that's absolutely right - but we will attack this with some zeal.

 

"It is a responsibility that the board of UK Sport has agreed to take on."

 

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: "We are investing a record amount of public money - over £300million - for our elite athletes' preparation for London 2012.

 

"This is £40million more than Beijing, where Team GB achieved such fantastic results.

 

"We will continue to work closely with UK Sport and Fast Track on raising funds from the private sector but it is right, with the proposition close to launch, that UK Sport now take the lead, given their relationship with sports national governing bodies, whose input will be vital in helping to deliver Medal Hopes.

 

"LOCOG has also agreed to offer their advice and expertise to UK Sport.

 

"We believe this is the best way forward to raise significant funds from the private sector."

 

Shadow sports minister Hugh Robertson said the Government had "dithered" over the money-raising.

 

He said: "We have seen the consequences of the Government's failure to fulfil its promise to raise £100million from the private sector for elite sport.

 

"This will mean the end of many individual Olympic ambitions.

 

"But this whole sorry saga could easily have been avoided if the Government had not diverted Lottery money away from sport, been more honest about the small print of the announcement, or got on with raising sponsorship in 2006 rather than dithering and allowing the recession to take hold."