Sport England has announced that a £10m National Lottery fund - designed to increase the number of university students playing sport - is to benefit more than 40 schemes.

Investment decisions made as part of the Active Universities programme include a £300,000 grant for the English Lacrosse Association to work with 30 institutions. More than £107,000 has been allocated to a joint initiative between Staffordshire University and Keele University to increase student participation by 2,000.

Elsewhere, more than £65,000 will help the University of Birmingham to grow participation across a number of sports by 15 per cent, including sessions run by volunteers. Sport England chief executive Jennie Price said: "Young adults who are still playing sport when they leave university are likely to stick with it for life, so this is a good investment in the future.

"These projects have been chosen because they really listened to what students wanted, so we are confident they will succeed in increasing participation." Sport minister Hugh Robertson added: "This funding for 41 different sport projects across the country is exactly what our Olympic legacy promise is about - offering more opportunities for people to get involved."

Image: Wendy Darling