Sport England has announced a new strategy aimed at getting one million more people to participate in sport by 2012, capitalising on the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As well as committing to increase participation in sport, the organisation has promised to reduce the number of 16-year-olds who drop out of five key sports by 25 per cent, improve talent development systems in at least 25 sports, and make a major contribution to the delivery of the government’s Five Hour Sport Offer for children and young people.

The list of targets also includes increasing people’s satisfaction with their experience of sport, the first time the organisation will conduct such a qualitative measure.

To deliver the strategy, Sport England will work with the National Governing Bodies of sport (NGBs) and local authorities.

As part of the strategy, NGBs will spend the second half of 2008 developing whole sport plans aimed at delivering Sport England’s targets. Sport England will assess the plans and give NGBs a single four-year grant to with which to deliver them.

Sport England will also work with Sport Coach UK to invest in frontline coaching through NGBs, whose plans will identify the resources needed to support new coaches. A Coaching for Young People strand will be created with the Youth Sport Trust and NGBs to increase coaching for young people in key sports at an early age, which will help deliver the Five Hour Sport offer.

As part of an effort to attract and retain more volunteers in community sports, a Recruit to Coach initiative will see Sport England increase the voluntary coaching workforce by 4,000 people, and work with the Youth Sport Trust to increase the number by another 4,000.

The strategy will also include work by Sport England and NGBs to ensure that an accessible, modern sports club structure is developed within each sport. Sports England will partner with organisations including the Football Foundation to develop multi-sport clubs providing diverse sports opportunities.

The strategy was welcomed by sports bodies. Richard Lewis, executive chair of the Rugby Football League, said: “Entrusting NGBs with more responsibility is a positive step towards getting the right resources to the right people in sport. We recognise that with responsibility comes more accountability and I, for one, look forward to working closely with Sport England to create a world-class sports system.”

“By investing heavily in coaching and the club structure we can maximise the chances for English sporting success and improve the quality of the sport experience for all,” said Andy Burnham, secretary for culture, media and sport. “National governing bodies will be key to successful delivery and will play a crucial role in helping us to get one million more people doing more sport by 2012.