Sport Northern Ireland (SNI) has announced that it will be ploughing £6m in performance sport over the next two years.

The funding will be spread between 35 sports governing bodies as SNI aims to create a world-class system to develop athletes.

The associations to benefit from the funding include Cricket Ireland, The Irish Football Association and Ulster Rugby with each sport having its own target.

Cricket Ireland aims to increase participation among youngsters by 5 per cent per annum and has announced its target of being ranked 8th in One Day International cricket.

The Irish Football Association, meanwhile, will invest its share of the money into an Excellence Development Programme for the next four years. Ulster Rugby plans to increase participation by 10 per cent over the next four years.

SNI chief executive, Eamonn McCartan, said: "We believe that our partnership approach with the governing bodies of sports will bring us closer to establishing a world class system for athlete development consisting of services, facilities and competition following the hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014."