With the adoption of the state budget for 2018, additional funding was allocated to the sports sector for three years, but in 2021 it will have already expired. The sports community will have to tighten its belts, however, in 2021 the situation will be further facilitated by the additional funding found by the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) responsible for the sector and the money allocated to mitigate the pandemic, but in the coming years.
IN SHORT:
- It was planned to reduce state funding for sports by 2.9 million euros in 2021, the situation will be softened by the 1.5 million euros found by the Ministry of Education and Science
- Sports organizations will have to decide whether to reduce the number of athletes in the Latvian Olympic team
- The biggest budget cuts are for high-performance sports
- Leading public sports organizations avoid commenting on the situation
- The 5 million euros allocated to alleviate the Covid-19 crisis will help sports organizations to pass the year 2021 more easily
- Budget reduction for sports in 2022 would reach 25-30%
On October 27, Edgars Severs, Director of the Sports Department of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES), reported to the Saeima Sports Subcommittee a reduction of 2.9 million euros, which would include a significant reduction in the number of Latvian Olympic team (LOV) athletes and several dozen sports without state funding. federation. The reduction in funding would affect both national and international sporting events.
In mid – November, the picture is no longer as dramatic as
The Ministry of Education and Science has found an opportunity to save 1.4 million euros in its budget, thus the reduction for the sports sector in 2021 will be limited to 1.5 million euros.
Severs explained that after submitting the budget adjustments, it is necessary to talk to sports organizations about further action.
“If the budget reduction does not affect the LOV, then the number of LOV athletes will remain provisionally the same as in 2020. If the reduction [LOV] will still be partially affected [sportistu] will have to be reduced, but not as dramatically as at a time when the budget was reduced by 2.9 million euros. This reduction is now almost half as small, so it is fair to say that there will be no such dramatic reduction, “Severs said.
Potential amount of state budget reduction in sports fields in 2021
Amount of reduction of the state sports budget
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The Ministry of Education and Science has already defined that in 2021 funding will have to be reduced in several sports budget lines. High performance sports are expected to be cut by 729 thousand euros, team sports games in 2021 will be allocated 230 thousand euros less, while sports federations and sports events in 2021 will have to reckon with a reduction of almost half a million euros. Funding for Paralympic sports will also decrease by less than 55 thousand euros.
Recipients of public funding for high performance in sport
The largest reduction is expected in high-achievement sports, where state funding flows in four directions – to the Latvian Olympic Committee (LOC), the Latvian Olympic Unit, the Latvian Olympic Social Fund [LOSF] and four high-class athlete training centers in Ventspils, Liepāja, Valmiera and Limbaži.
“Here, therefore, we will have a conversation with the Olympic Committee, which has submitted this joint financial request, covering both the LOSF and the LOV. As the management of the LOV – the board and, if necessary, the executive committee – sees which positions can be reduced,” he explained. Severs.
LOK Secretary General Kārlis Lejnieks refused to comment on the situation in mid-November, as work on the budget is still ongoing. Latvian Television also failed to contact LOV leader Einars Fogelis, meanwhile
In the view of the Ministry of Education and Science, the reduction in funding could be at the expense of the Olympic federations, as more than 50% of the funding for the Olympic Excellence Program has been carried over to 2021.
Sandis Riekstins, the head of the Saeima Sports Subcommittee, does not see a dramatic drop in funding in 2021, as the situation is leveled by the 5 million euros allocated by the government in June to reduce the negative impact of the Covid-19 crisis.
“Speaking to sports umbrella organizations, they tell me that there used to be a 5 million euro grant, or so-called Covid money,” Riekstins said. “At the moment, it looks like about 70% of those 5 million will move on to the next [2021.] year. If we add up this way, then so be it [sporta finansējuma] the amount is much higher than it used to be. “
If the sports sector could still manage to pass the year 2021 relatively calmly, then in 2022 and 2023 an even faster decrease of the state sports budget is expected.
This was emphasized by both Riekstins and Severs.
“The budget statement is being prepared for three years, including 2022 and 2023. We will correct the figures we are now correcting for 2021. For 2022 and 2023, the reductions will remain the same, because, very simply, 2022 In 2006, no additional funding was allocated between readings, so the situation is the same and has not changed, “Severs outlined further budgetary perspectives. “In 2022, the reduction for basic programs is still 23-25%, for the Paralympians even 30%. A very dramatic percentage. There we will not change any figures, so there is an objective basis for change only for the 2021 national sports budget figures.”
The sports industry is ahead of the belt. The next three years promise to be difficult not only in terms of funding, but also in terms of sport. What competitions and in what format will be able to take place in the conditions of a pandemic can greatly adjust the plans for the use of the national sports budget.
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