The British government has confirmed that no less than £500 million (€625 million) will be made available over the next four years for distribution through UK Sport.  One third of this each year will come direct from government and two thirds from a newly restructured national lottery disbursement mechanism.
The actual amount is obviously higher than it could ever be justified in Ireland, for obvious reasons of scale but the long term commitment is something of great value as it allows sports to plan with confidence.
Of equal importance is the single minded approach to accountability and delivery.  Swimming has been a major beneficiary over the last Olympic cycle but now will likely be trimmed back as a result of less than expected performance in the Aquatics Centre at these Olympic Games.
The stick as well as carrot approach may sit uncomfortably with some but it worked for Gymnastics in Britain which had funding reduced after a disappointing previous Olympics.  It was forced to change its emphasis to fit the new reality and emerged stronger with participation and performance hitting new heights.
Now that the games are over sport will have to go back to the hard graft of proving its case for funding on paper.  It also needs to step up in terms of what it can offer to external sources of partnership and support to wean away from over dependence on central funding.  It is hoped that Sport for Business 20/20 will help in some small way.