The scheme encourages youngsters to take up four Olympic sports before the Games come to London in 2012, writes Graham Hiley.

In a groundbreaking £3.8m partnership with the British Government, the 'Premier League 4 Sport' scheme sees all 20 clubs in the Barclays Premier League link up with community sport clubs to help youngsters take up badminton, judo, table tennis and volleyball.

Stars Wes Brown, Michael Carrick, John O'Shea and Danny Welbeck, turned out for the launch at the Manchester Health Academy in Wythenshaw and led by example, trying their hand at all four sports.

The quartet got right into the spirit of the event by taking on excited local youngsters at the various sports.

They all thoroughly enjoyed playing table tennis, volleyball and badminton with Olympic silver medalist Gail Emms - but they were more wary about the judo.

However European Judo Championship silver medalist Sarah Clarke promised to go easy on them to avoid any risk of injury.

Irish international defender O'Shea laughed: "It was much harder than football training but good fun. I had never done judo before and I realised I am not quite as talented at that as I am at football.

"It was quite difficult but I enjoyed it and hopefully it will help encourage others to have a go.

"It is very important for youngsters to learn new skills and try out new sports. Who knows? They could have a real talent for it.

"A few years ago cycling might have been considered a minority sport but now it has a high profile and hopefully the same will happen for these sports.

"If kids get involved now and find they excel then in a few years time they could go far."

England midfielder Carrick told premierleague.com: "Schemes like this are massively important - and not just because of the Olympics.

"It is great for youngsters to try different sports and stay active for health reasons - and then if they are good at them they can pursue them.

"I really like coming to events like this and seeing kids enjoying themselves and showing such enthusiasm.

"Hopefully it will have a knock-on effect for our Olympic teams in the future. I watch a lot of sport and like most people, I am always glued to the Games.

"It will be fantastic to have them here on our doorstep and I will try to get to as many events as I can."

Working with the grassroots sport delivery bodies, the Youth Sport Trust and Sport England, the Premier League clubs' aim is to get 25,000 young people, aged between 11 and 16, to join local sport clubs in the four Olympic sports during the two and a half-year scheme.

Each Barclays Premier League club is linking to four community sport clubs in their local area which will work in partnership with the football club. The 80 community sport clubs will be linked to four secondary schools in the area, creating a total of 320 satellite clubs across the country.

Each Barclays Premier League club will appoint a project co-ordinator who will manage the scheme locally and work with clubs and school sport partnerships to maximise opportunities for young people. Premier League 4 Sport builds on the success of the Premier League's current community programme and aims to get children from all backgrounds involved in non-traditional, club-based sport.

United's project co-ordinator Zeki Istanbul said: "The scheme is part of the 2012 legacy to get more youngsters involved in sport.

"We will be setting up four local hub clubs across Salford, Manchester and Trafford to promote these four sports.

"They are all sports which can be enjoyed at a local sports centre without the need for a great deal of specialised equipment or experience.

"The fact that Manchester United's name is attached will immediately make it more attractive and capture the imagination of the kids."

The scheme is already attracting huge support and excitement locally after being set up by the Manchester United Foundation.

Chief executive John Shiels told premierleague.com: "The advent of the Premier League 4Sport project is fantastic news for our region.

"We have seen first hand what investment and media attention can do for sports like cycling. Taking part in sport when you're younger can have many benefits both mentally and physically, and these sports are relatively cheap to get into and ideally suited to mass participation.

"Using football as a way of connecting with young people has proved successful across many of our projects; hopefully we at Manchester United Foundation can encourage children who know Manchester United, but perhaps don't want to play football, into playing sport.

"It is not just about the fitness and health aspects though. These sports teach fantastic life skills such as discipline and focus.

"In a team sport you can occasionally get away with losing focus because you have others to bail you out but that is not the case in individual sports.

"If you lose focus in judo, you will be flat on your back and it is game over. It teaches calm, composure and concentration and helps to develop young people to become better citizens for tomorrow."

European Judo Championship silver medalist Sarah Clarke said: "This link with the Premier League is a massive boost for the sport.

"When youngsters see these household names having a go and enjoying it then they are more likely to try it for themselves. All the players got stuck in and had fun.

"These sports are accessible to all and will bring quiet kids out of their shell and add discipline and self-control to the more rowdy ones.

"Anything which gets kids involved in playing sport has got to be a good thing."

Olympic badminton silver medalist Gail Emms added: "It is a great scheme because without the football club's name, it would just be an ordinary badminton club.

"It can be hard to get youngsters involved but as soon as Manchester United or another Premier League club put their name to it then it becomes much more appealing."

Click here for more details on Premier League 4 Sport.