“Hackney Council has a long and successful history in providing sporting opportunities to the borough’s young people. As such, when we were approached by Adidas to use the Hackney Marshes Centre for a four-week advertising campaign in exchange for a significant sum of money we felt it was a great opportunity to continue supporting our future sporting talent. “As a result of this deal we have been able to inject an extra £30,000 into the Youth Sport Fund, which benefits young sportspeople directly by paying for things like travel, equipment or coaching. Adidas is also running associated initiatives to support sport on the Marshes, including giving free football boots to Hackney youth teams. “At a time of severe government funding cuts – which has so far seen Hackney’s budget reduced by about £100 million and many councils cut services – it’s crucial we make the most of opportunities to generate revenue to help us keep supporting our residents. The benefits of this extra money for Hackney’s young people will be felt long after this advert is taken down.