It comes at a time when British basketball is currently unable to access nearly £4 million worth of funding to help it prepare for the 2012 Olympics because officials cannot decide who is in charge of the sport.

 

This will be the third review of basktball in the past five years and follows earlier reviews by Sport England in 2001 and 2003. The review will be chaired Tony Mallin, a financial expert who is the chief executive and founder of STAR Capital Partners and a former vice chairman of Hambros Bank. He is also a past chairman of the Finance and Leasing Association and has advised government on Private Finance Initiative (PFI) policy.

"England Basketball welcomes the opportunity to participate in the independent review into the way basketball is structured and administered," said Keith Mair, England Basketball's chief exeuctive.

 

"Our statistics show a significant degree of recovery and growth over the past three years for basketball in Englandand we are fully committed to cooperating with the members of the review panel. In particular, we are keen to continue to work closely with the representatives of Scottish and Welsh basketball towards producing competitive teams representing Great Britain from this year onwards, in order to compete at the London 2012 Olympics and beyond."

 

UK Sport has already warned the sport they will not release a penny of the £3.99 million they awarded the sport in its latest review two months ago until they resolve a bitter row that has seen the three Home Countries – Northern Ireland is one of the sports that come under the wing of Ireland – resign from Great Britain Basketball (GBB), the sport’s representative on the British Olympic Association.

 

They have set up a breakaway body, the British Basketball Federation (BBF), which has submitted a performance plan to the BOA together with an application to be recognised as basketball’s representative in place of the GBB.

 

Mallin said that the sport was at a crucial stage in its development and had a superb opportunity to build on recent high profile successes at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, where England's men and women's team both won bronze medals.

 

"Basketball is a sport with huge potential to grow and develop," he said. "It appeals to young people, can be played almost anywhere and has a flourishing network of clubs and associations across the country. The encouraging performances of England's men and women at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, underlines this opportunity. Now, we need to make sure that success is capitalised upon."

 

The review will be led by Sport England on behalf of the DCMS. UK Sport is also supporting the review, which has the full backing of the Sports Minister Richard Caborn. Leading organisations involved in the sport have been invited to participate in and contribute fully to the review process. This will focus on the long term and sustainable expansion and development of basketball at club and grass roots level, as well as supporting UK Sport's work with the sport in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

"Basketball itself has asked for this review, so it is essential that all of their stakeholders take an active part in the process," said Caborn.

 

Paul Blake, chairman of the British Basketball League, also welcomed the review process, saying: "We are pleased to be involved in the review and the development of a unified strategic direction for the sport."

 

Mallin will be supported by a highly experienced team of senior figures from sport, business and finance, who make up the review group. Its members will include: John Eady; managing director, Knight, Kavanagh & Page; Dave Henwood; director, Sports Business; Stephen Redwood: president and CEO, Mercer Delta UK; Michael Sorkin; vice chairman, N M Rothschild & Sons; Neil Tunnicliffe; director, Wharton Consulting.

The review is scheduled to produce its final report and recommendations in the autumn.