On behalf of LSGF, Moses (400 m Olympic Gold Medallist), Spitz (the greatest Olympian of all time) and Fitzpatrick (one of the greatest rugby players of all time) presented the cheque to Chief Superintendent Ian Seabourne, who is the Executive Director of Operation Breakthrough, during an inaugural visit to the directors and members of Operation Breakthrough.

Mr Smith, who is a director of Operation Breakthrough, said the LSGF draws upon the incredible support and patronage of the Laureus World Sports Academy. Chaired by track legend Edwin Moses, the Laureus World Sports Academy is a dedicated team of 42 of the world's greatest sportsmen and women, all of who volunteer their time in support of the LSGF and to draw public attention to the plight of young people around the world.

Speaking of Operation Breakthrough, Mr Smith said : "Operation Breakthrough has long recognised the potential of sport to challenge and change young persons at risk from the environmental pressures of growing up in Hong Kong. With well-established programmes in boxing and rugby for boys and a recently launched dancing programme for girls, the organisation continues to grow from strength to strength."

And commented Mr Seabourne : "I have been overwhelmed at how the programme has taken off from a District initiative that taught boxing to eight youths on the rooftop of Tai Hing police station to what we are currently achieving. The synergy between the social workers and volunteer police officers has been the driving force behind its success."

On rugby training, Mr Smith said : "Watching the 50 plus boys charging around the rugby pitch under the guidance of police and rugby union coaches, the benefits were all too obvious. As autographs were given and photographs taken, even the Fijian rugby sevens team, practising on the adjacent pitch, wandered over, led by their captain, the inimitable Wasali Serevi."

"It was to prove a week for celebrity visits as a few days later the former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Joe Bugner visited the police boxing gym in Tai Po and spent an hour with the boys and police officers of the Breakthrough Boxing Club," he added.

"Perhaps the overall success of the project can be summed up by Nelson Mandela's well-known observations, 'Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can awaken hope where there was previously only despair'," Mr Smith noted.

The presentation to Mr Seabourne by Mark Spitz (far left), Sean Fitzpatrick (second right) and Edwin Moses (right) attests to Operation Breakthrough's achievement