Plans have been unveiled to promote and support sports coaching, through the construction of a new national network of coaching centres to help deliver excellence.

A new national centre is to be established, with a network of centres in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions, which will aim to improve coaching standards at all levels for sport and disability sport.

The initiative will be led by sports coach UK – the lead agency for the development of the UK coaching system – with support from the home nation sports councils, which will also help fund the development and running costs.

The centres are likely to be based at institutions of higher education, and will be identified and selected on the basis of an open competition, against a prospectus.

The centres will support the coaching agendas of national governing bodies, the sports councils and UK Sport – one of the first objectives will be the fast-tracking of talent development coaches to assist with preparing talented performers for the 2012 Olympics.

sports coach UK chief executive, Pat Duffy, said: "These coaching centres are a significant and exciting move forward for sport in the UK and will provide a strong focus for developing and supporting coaches in the lead up to 2012."

Duffy added that the network was a crucial part of a wider plan to develop the UK's coaching system into the most advanced in the world by 2016.