With just over a year to go before the Olympics and Paralympics, the Mayor revealed plans to award grants from his Sports Legacy Fund to 14 large scale sports participation projects and 26 community facilities.

The £12 million ($48 million) is made up of £4 million ($6.5 million) from the Mayor's Sports Legacy Fund and £8 million ($13 million) match funding, which has been drawn from a range of sources in the private, public and charitable sector.

Johnson today visited a City Hall funded BMX project in Walthamstow to reiterate his commitment to deliver a lasting sporting legacy for every corner of London after the Games are over.

"From hockey in Hillingdon to karate in Kingston, we are storming ahead to revamp facilities and increase sports participation across the board," he said.

"This investment, which sees some hugely important match funding being pledged, is fantastic news for Londoners of all ages and abilities from across the city.

"I am absolutely clear that to create a lasting legacy from the London Games, we must do all we can to get people out of their living rooms and into physical activity."

The Mayor's total spend on grass-roots sport is now over £10 million ($16.1 million) and with a further £20 million ($32.2 million) leveraged in as match funding.

Some of the projects to benefit include a plan for nine new wheelchair basketball clubs, virtual indoor rowing race nights for thousands of children and weekly touch rugby sessions for workers right across London.

Facilities are also being upgraded across the capital, creating capacity for an additional 20,000 users per week.

Exciting projects include a new two-storey karate club in Kingston-upon-Thames, the reopening of a disused lido in Charlton, and a new floodlit hockey pitch in Hillingdon.

In addition, more than 140 organisations are set to benefit from FreeSport grants, as part of Johnson's PlaySport London programme, of up to £1,500 ($2,400) given to small clubs and community groups to provide around 10,000 Londoners with a minimum of six hours of free sports coaching.

Minister for Sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson said: "The bid to bring the Olympics to London was built on the back of a promise that it would leave a lasting sporting legacy and inspire a generation to get involved in sport.

"This investment by the Mayor of London and others will offer hundreds of thousands of people of all abilities across the capital that opportunity."

The Mayor has also been involved in providing subsidised training for Londoners wishing to train as a sports coach, official or volunteer.

To date, more than 4,500 training places have been funded, with recipients of the training having pledged more than 50,000 hours of volunteering back into their local communities.

The Mayor's Commissioner for Sport Kate Hoey added: "Like the BMX track we are visiting this morning, the projects we are announcing today all have the potential to make a real difference to the lives of ordinary people.

"For me, they are what hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is all about.

"New facilities, fresh sporting opportunities and free sports coaching right across London - this really is legacy in action.

"I am hugely grateful for the Mayor's ongoing commitment to this cause and I also want to pay tribute to all the fantastic people who volunteer their time and dedicate their lives to bringing the great joy of sport to their fellow Londoners."

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