As London regional director for the Sports Council (later Sport England) from 1989 to 2003, my friend, Andy Sutch, was pivotal in raising the profile of grassroots sport and for laying the groundwork for the successful bid for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. He had joined the strategic planning department of the Sports Council in 1976.
Andy, who has died aged 75, came up with a London sports strategy in 1987 that centred on increasing general participation, especially among marginalised groups. Early to recognise that the capital, given its world city status, should become a leader in world sport, he strongly supported and helped develop the credible, albeit unsuccessful, bid for the 2000 Olympics.
