2012 is the year of the London Olympic Games and will be the showpiece of a busy year in global sport. There are many great stories about how the London Games are impacting the city and sport in the UK. Commonly referred to as “the birthplace of modern sport”, Britain is an appropriate location to showcase modern sport heroes on the backdrop of its rich cultural history. Why Sport Matters will shed more light on these amazing stories throughout the year.

The London Games are not the only big global sport event to take place in 2012. Innsbruck, Austria successfully hosted the first ever Youth Winter Olympic Games in January. New ground was broken in Africa early in the year where the tiny countries of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea co-hosted (for the first time) the continent’s premier event – football’s African Cup of Nations . In June, the eyes of the world will focus on Poland and Ukraine, who are co-hosting Euro 2012 - football’s European Cup.

Why Sport Matters will continue to bring you stories and perspective as to why sport plays such a unique role in the world. Stay tuned as we bring you a new website to showcase more content and continue to explain Why Sport Matters. You can SIGN UP FOR UPDATES, which will be sent to your email and will allow you to continue to follow our updates.