Anyone involved in sport knows it has the power to unite, inspire, motivate and challenge people like nothing else.

Last weekend I went to the cinema to see the new film "Invictus"– this is a great example of the power of sport as it portrays the true story of how Nelson Mandela, as President of South Africa, used the 1995 Rugby World Cup to unite the country in the wake of apartheid.

1995 was the year that also saw the Youth Sport Trust established with a mission to improve the lives of young people through PE and sport. Over the last 15 years we have made significant progress and begun a serious attempt to create a world-leading PE and sport system.

Our journey began with the creation of our TOP programmes - simple easy to use resources and equipment, backed up with training to support primary teachers in the delivery of quality PE. In 1996 we were delighted to be asked by the Government to support the first 11 specialist sports colleges. These schools, of which there are now 501, have gone on to be pioneers in how PE and sport can be used to raise achievement and aspiration across the curriculum.

Building on the early success of specialist sports colleges we went on to create, in September 2000, the first 33 School Sport Partnerships - families of schools working together to create more opportunities for young people to access sport. By September 2006, after unprecedented Government investment in PE and school sport, every maintained school in England was in one of 450 School Sport Partnerships.

This system has been responsible for a transformation in opportunities for young people to participate, perform and lead/volunteer in sport.

The national network of Partnership Development Managers, School Sport Co-ordinators and Primary Link Teachers have now been joined by a national network of Further Education Sport Co-ordinators, one in each FE college, and a team of 225 Competition Managers. Together with the Directors of Specialism in sports colleges this new infrastructure of people, which didn’t exist when Sydney staged the 2000 Olympics and Paralympics, look forward with eager anticipation to the events that await us in London 2012.

As we move closer to London 2012 there is little doubt that the profile of sport will move to an all time high. With a growing understanding of how sport can make a major contribution across all agendas – including in education, public health and community cohesion, we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to seize the moment and create a lasting legacy.

We know that when PE and sport is good the gains for young people and for our society at large are significant - improved health, more confident young people, improved academic performance and better behaviour. London 2012 gives us a fantastic opportunity to turbo charge the great work that has already been initiated and through this to create irreversible change in our sporting system - the Youth Sport Trust is ready to lead this charge.

Whilst we will invest time and resource in London 2012 related activity over the next two and a half years our real focus will be levering the system change beyond 2012 – ensuring that sport is embedded in our schools for ever and that there are enough coaches, clubs and competitive opportunities to cater for the demands of the millions of young people who will be inspired to take up sport as a result of London 2012.

We remain committed to working in partnership and will seek to strengthen our relationships with local and central Government, national governing bodies of sport, corporate organisations and, of course, sustain and grow our links with sports colleges and School Sport Partnerships. 

Our vision for the future of PE and school sport is based a number of key building blocks. These include making sure there is greater investment in initial teacher training to enable primary school teachers to teach high-quality PE.

Schools also need to think creatively about how they structure, stage and present competitions, so that they do not exclusively serve the most talented young people while leaving others on the sidelines.

And there is a real need to develop junior sports clubs on school sites to increase the number of young people progressing from school to club sport.

We have come such a long way in the last 15 years and have a solid base from which to build.

As the organisation responsible for supporting the rapidly expanding school sport movement, the Youth Sport Trust’s commitment to building a brighter future for young people through sport is as strong as it was in 1995.

To borrow the words of Mr Mandela: "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand."

Steve Grainger is the chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust