The cash is to be spent on refurbishing sports surfaces and facilities, including adding flood lights and all-weather astro pitches to enable facilities to be used during the evenings and in the winter months. Ed Balls commented:

2008 will always be remembered as a fantastic year for sport. We all enjoyed the remarkable achievements by Team GB at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. But it was also a remarkable year for sports colleges, PE and school sport.

The announce will come as good news for PE suppliers who have seen a drastic downturn in the volume of orders in recent months. Ed Balls added:

I am delighted to announce that our massive investment in school sport continues today with a further £21 million to be shared between 75 sports colleges. I know that this investment will make a real difference across the country.

Ed Balls made the announcement at the opening day of the Sports Colleges Conference yesterday.

Check our list of Key Dates for School Suppliers for details of other conferences, exhibitions and events coming up.