The British water polo team will travel to Dublin to train ahead of the London Olympics in 2012.

The team was very impressed by National Aquatic Centre (NAC), in Blanchardstown, when they visited in March this year and have decided to return.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar said that he is "delighted" to make this announcement.

The Minister believes that the visit highlights the importance of the NAC as a key sporting facility in Ireland.

The British water polo team will use the NAC for a two-week training session in July 2012, immediately before the London Olympics. The development is a direct result of the international matches held at the NAC earlier this year, between the British and Hungarian water-polo men's senior squads.

Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring also welcomed the news, he said: "The Committee's hard work is once again bearing fruit. We have already secured the US Olympic synchronized swimming squad and the British paralympic swimming squad, which will both be using the NAC as a training base for the Olympics."

The Minister who chairs the Inter-Agency Committee in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport added: "The Committee will work right up to the Olympics. As well as seeking to attract national teams to train in Ireland, we are staging Irish cultural events in London, and promoting Ireland as a destination for Londoners hoping to escape the Olympics."

Meanwhile, while a letter of intent has been signed by an Olympic team that may use Northern Ireland as its training base for the 2012 Games, there is little other sign of any other teams using NI as a base.

News was released last month that the Australian Olympic boxing team had become the first to signal its intent to set up its London 2012 training camp in Northern Ireland.

See: NI Beaten In 2012 Olympic Race

See: Boxing Clever

(LB/BMcC)