BURY St Edmunds-based pubs and brewing group Greene King is to become official sponsor of the Rwandan Olympic and Paralympic games teams which are to be based in the town next year.

The sponsorship agreement between the Rwandan National Olympic Committee and Greene King will assist the teams with their training equipment and official uniforms for the London 2012 games, with part of the funding also going back into the development of sports in Rwanda.

The Rwandan Olympic and Paralympic pre-games training camp will be based at the West Suffolk Athletics Arena at Bury St Edmunds Leisure Centre next summer.

It is expected that a team of around 18 officials, coaches, assistants and competitors will be training in Bury for the Olympics, including up to six athletes in the fields of cycling, swimming and athletics. In the Paralympics, three athletes in the fields of athletics and power lifting plus the sitting volleyball team are expected to compete, together with seven officials in support.

Charles Rudakubana, president of the Rwanda Olympic Team, said: “The games training camp in Bury St Edmunds is vital for our athletes.

“It will allow our athletes to acclimatise to the British environment, by training in the climate in which they will be competing. The facilities in Bury St Edmunds are first class and our athletes will be able to train right up until they compete in London.”

Dr Rudakubana added: “We are very grateful to Greene King for their generous sponsorship of the Rwandan Olympic and Paralympic teams and extremely pleased that our elite partner is based in Bury St Edmunds, the home of our games training camp.”

Dom South, marketing director for Greene King Brewing and Brands, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Rwandan Olympic and Paralympic teams to our home town as they train and prepare for the Olympics. We wish them well for the games and will support them as well as team GB.”

The president of the Rwanda Paralympic team, Dominique Bizimana, added: “Our athletes will be thrilled with the support Greene King has offered and we look forward to training in Bury St Edmunds next year.

“We believe that the pre-games training camp in Suffolk will enable us to optimise our preparation for the games and to know that the people of Bury St Edmunds and the borough of St Edmundsbury will also be supporting us is truly wonderful.”