Commonwealth Games England partnership

The launch of our Commonwealth Games England partnership at London's Guildhall.

National Express is an Official Supporter for the Commonwealth Games England team in a sponsorship deal that runs right through until the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.

The partnership was endorsed by Sir Andrew Foster, Commonwealth Games England Chairman, who said he was absolutely delighted that National Express had chosen to invest in the England team for four years. Having a major corporate sponsor being involved so early in England's 2014 campaign was a testament to the potential and talent of the England Commonwealth Games team.

To help promote the sponsorship National Express has painted two of its coaches in a gold and silver livery in honour of the athletes who are training and competing to take part in the Commonwealth Games. The two coaches, which were used to carry the England team between venues at the Commonwealth Youth Games on the Isle of Man in September 2011, normally travel between London, Brighton and Heathrow Airport covering an average of 300,000 miles per year - the equivalent of running 11,450 marathons!

Dean Finch, Chief Executive of National Express Group said: "National Express is committed to investing in excellence and we are proud to support the next generation of athletes competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow."

Free travel for medal winners

"During the next four years, we will support athletes both at a grass roots and regional level," added Dean. "All medal winners from the previous Commonwealth Games in Delhi will receive free travel until the Games in 2014 to help with their costs to train and attend competitions. We are pleased to be involved at such an early stage supporting the England Commonwealth Games team to success."

And some of those athletes are already enjoying the benefits of that free travel. Weightlifter Zoe Smith said "Thank you for my free pass. I currently balance my time between Leeds, where I train with the national squad and my home in London. Travel is a big part of my life and the easier it is, the better I can focus on my training."

And shooting medalist Georgina Geikie added "This free travel is so helpful. I live in Devon and travel to London and the airports a lot for training. I already use the coaches a lot because I can get straight on at Exeter and three hours later I am in the middle of Heathrow without the worry or cost of car parking for a week or two."

You can find out more about Commonwealth Games England here