Luke Campbell Aims To Inspire New Generation of Talent

Olympic gold medallist Luke Campbell is keen to inspire a new generation of sporting talent after giving his backing to a multi-million pound National Lottery investment in the StreetGames charity.

The charity will establish new clubs in disadvantaged communities in a bid to turn around participation figures that prove those from less well-off areas are not so inclined to get involved.

Campbell himself fought up through what he described himself as a "deprived area" in Hull and is looking forward to making his professional debut in front of 10,000 of his home city fans next month.

Campbell said: "Hopefully kids will see that I'm just like them, someone from a deprived area who worked hard and achieved my goal. It goes to show that you don't have to be from a posh area to be good at something."

New figures from the Sport England Active People Survey show that only 44 per cent of 16 to 25 year-olds from households with an income of less than £10,399 play sport each week, compared to 55 per cent of people nationally.

Sport England's Director of Sport Phil Smith said: "While the number of young people taking part in sport overall is on the rise, there is still a big disparity between well-off areas and disadvantaged communities."

Meanwhile Campbell is relishing the prospect of his making his debut and says having coped with the pressure of heading into an Olympic final he will not find it hard to rise to the occasion once again.

Campbell added: "Having gone through the Olympic Games wanting to achieve my ultimate goal, I learned how to handle pressure and use it to my advantage.

"I am a very content and happy person because I did something I had always dreamed of and no-one can take that away from me. The only pressure I feel is the pressure I put on myself to continue to succeed."