Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has announced that £4m is to be made available to communities across the country to help fund improvements to local sports facilities.

The latest funding will be invested by national sports agency sportscotland over a four-year period, which complements plans to establish 100 community hubs by 2014. It is hoped that the investment will also increase participation levels and provide support to local clubs ahead of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Salmond said: "We are committed to improving facilities for communities across Scotland, and we want everyone to be able to access quality sports amenities in their local area. "This £4m fund will help communities upgrade equipment and facilities, and follows a £500,000 fund announced by sports minister Shona Robison last month to encourage community ownership of sports amenities."