Sebastian Coe has called a sponsorship deal with the credit card giant Visa for Britain's 1,200 Olympic and Paralympic athletes "a ground-breaking moment for British sport".
Visa will become the presenting partner of Team 2012, which was launched at the Olympic Park today, in the run-up to the London Games. The money will go towards filling a £50m funding shortfall for Olympic and Paralympic sports.
Coe, the chairman of the London organising committee, said: "Today's launch of Team 2012 is a ground-breaking moment for British sport. Team 2012 will help bring to reality the dreams of future generations of athletes in competing at the very highest level.
"We are delighted to have Visa as the presenting partner and driving force behind Team 2012."
The announcement in east London came after an agreement was reached with athletes' agents over image rights.
There was resistance initially from some agents, including those representing Sir Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington and Christine Ohuruogu. A deal was struck after UK Sport guaranteed that no fewer than four athletes – from a minimum of three sports – will be used in any images to promote Team 2012 or their sponsor, with no undue prominence given to any athlete.
The sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, said: "This is a terrific vote of confidence by the business community in the work being done to give our medal hopefuls the best chance of striking gold in 2012.
"It is fantastic that Visa has stepped forward, and I am confident that this extra funding – building on the unprecedented levels of public funding for our athletes – will help our Olympic and Paralympic teams deliver even more medals in London."
Team 2012 is a joint project involving UK Sport, the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association, and the organising committee of the London Olympics.
Visa's sponsorship will help fund sports governing bodies provide training and competition support for athletes. Peter Ayliffe, the president of Visa Europe, said: "As a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games since 1986, Visa is proud to have created such a prolific partnership with Team 2012.
"It will embody British pride, courage, effort and achievement and provide a unique opportunity for the country to get behind the UK's best athletes and help them compete and win more medals than ever before."
The three-times Olympic sailing gold medallist Ben Ainslie said: "I am very pleased to support Team 2012, in particular its ambition to raise funds for athletes across all the Olympic and Paralympic sports not just in the build up to London but beyond 2012 as well.
"It is vital that we maximise not just our nation's medal opportunities at the Games but also the legacy that can be left in terms of the potential of future generations."