The County Sports Partnership (CSP) for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent has been officially launched.

Active from the start of November, the new CSP will play a central role in the development of sport and active recreation across the county and was officially launched by a number of leading sporting figures from the area.

Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, as the CSP will be known, will be directed by Mark Thornewill, who said at the official launch at Burton Albion's Pirelli Stadium: "We are a small, dedicated team, who, with the support of our partners, are ready to deliver."

The CSP is being funded by nine Staffordshire local authorities and the University of Staffordshire, with a Sport England lottery fund award of £680,000. Other partners will include sports national governing bodies and the local Primary Care Trust.