"I do not accept the absolute commitment to one football club," Britain’s International Olympic Committee Executive Board member told insidethegames after speaking at the Legacy Lives 2010 Conference in East London.

"Football  was given a wonderful deal in Manchester, where Manchester City took over the stadium when the 2002 Commonwealth Games finished.

"So I’m not surprised that a lot of other football clubs are looking at London and thinking, ‘Oh goody, there’s a pile of public money, and we would like to have our share.'" Reedie said.

He recalled London’s "undignified" bid for the World Athletics Championships,  where the timing had to be shifted from 2003 to 2005 because of delays over providing the expected athletics venue at a rebuilt Wembley, and where, amid continuing delays over what turned out to be a venue without track and field capacity, a late alternative venue of Sheffield was offered and rejected.

"At that stage the whole business was assumed to have buried London’s chances [of hosting the Olympics]," he said. 

"There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that having an athletics track, an athletics legacy in that part of the world is absolutely crucial, and will remain.

"There are ways of building a stadium to combine football and athletics.

"You see examples in the Olympic Stadiums in Rome, and in Berlin. 

"The BOA (British Olympic Association) did a whole survey based on sharing a stadium between football and athletics at Wembley.

"But the Government failed to deliver on a national stadium - they delivered a national football stadium.

 "On this occasion however, we - the London 2012 organising committee - will deliver an Olympic stadium which will have an athletics legacy.

"And afterwards there is no doubt in my mind that proper investment planning by the legacy company can get sufficient use by other sports, whether it’s football or whether it’s rugby.

"If you bring it down to a 25,000 seater stadium there is a whole range of uses that I am sure are currently being explored."

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