The association was shocked that there was no funding announcement from the chancellor in his pre-budget statement and claims it is being hampered in its stated ambition of moving Britain into fourth place in the medals table. It is seeking in the region of an extra £50m a year.

Lord Moynihan, the BOA's chairman, and Simon Clegg, its chief executive, are now planning to meet executives from UK Sport to find a way forward. The BOA is also expected to lobby Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to clarify the situation.

The move was agreed after a four-hour meeting with chief executives and performance directors of all Britain's Olympic sports. Moynihan said: "The Olympic governing bodies were deeply disappointed that the expected seven-year funding package was not announced."

Moynihan said five months had already been lost and presumably another five would elapse before the chancellor's spring budget, time the BOA could "ill afford to lose". It argues that world-class coaches need to be in place now if qualification standards are to be met.

Yesterday the Department for Culture, Media and Sport denied the delay would hamper Britain's 2012 medal ambitions, insisting that the door had not been closed on extra funding. "We don't believe that by not announcing any extra funding the government has harmed the chances of success for our athletes for 2012," a spokesman said.

There is also some scepticism in the government about setting such an ambitious target at this stage. Richard Caborn, the sports minister, told the Commons: "I think it would be a little naive to start saying at this early stage that we're going to move from 10th to fourth without anyone putting the funding methods into place."

He was speaking as the Commons passed the third reading of the Olympic bill on Tuesday night. The bill now goes to the Lords, with royal assent likely in the first quarter of 2006.