Disappointing results: reform of top-class sport – a tragedy in eight acts

analysis

As of: February 26, 2026 • 11:17 a.m

If you like success stories, this article is in the wrong place. Fans of dramas and “daily soaps” will get their money’s worth. It’s about how Germany has been trying in vain to reform its top-class sport for years.

Let’s start with a sober look at the status quo.

The balance sheet

The German medal haul from Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo is missing. Fifth place in the nations ranking for the 2026 Winter Games. Instead of top three, as planned and as has been usual since reunification. The trend at the summer games has been downwards for a long time, and now also in the winter.

The money

The state sounded the alarm years ago about the negative trend. The federal government supports top-class sport with subsidies for the top associations and then more than doubled these. 53.5 million euros (2013) have become 119 million euros (2025). The plan: More money for more medals. It didn’t work.

The potentials

In addition, a new strategy was introduced in 2016: The money should flow primarily into sports that have good prospects of success. Since then there has been the beautiful word “PotAS”, which stands for “Potential Analysis System”. As the name suggests, it is intended to analyze the potential of the individual disciplines objectively and transparently. The results should be the basis for funding.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) supported this reform at the time, but then got cold feet – after much criticism from the sports associations. Because if some people, the supposed guarantors of success, get more money, others get less. Logical, but also dramatic for the sports affected. The result: DOSB and the federal government softened the reform and continue to distribute the money quite widely to this day. “PotAS” became a toothless bureaucratic monster.

The goals

There were also doubts: Full focus on medals – does that make sense? To get completely involved in a merciless competition, possibly distorted by doping, cheating and merciless drilling? An overdue debate has begun about what goals Germany could and should pursue in top-class sport. But at the moment, sport and politics seem unwilling to bring the issue to an end. That’s why the motto under Sports Minister Christiane Schenderlein (CDU) continues to apply for the time being: medals “are not everything”, but they are “the guideline”.

The power struggle

The 2016 reform had not yet been consistently implemented, so the next attempt at reform followed in 2022 with the planned sports funding law. Taking stock: Too much tax money is seeping away in bureaucracy and structures, other countries are doing it better. Following the example of Great Britain, a new, independent agency will in future manage the promotion of top-class sport.

That was four years ago and there has been a dispute ever since. Above all, about who should be in charge in the agency. The federal government’s view: It’s about taxpayer money, so we have to have oversight. In addition: Organized sport has missed its chances of winning more medals with more tax money.

The DOSB, on the other hand, warns against too much government in sport and says: We are the experts. The umbrella organization is fighting for its influence – also because it has realized that it would probably have to hand over many of its tasks to the agency.

The chaos

The DOSB’s persistence is an example of the main problem: an absurd number of institutions are involved in the top-class sports funding system. They participate and benefit from tax revenue or money from the state lottery. The following list of actors also shows that the above-mentioned 113 million euros in funding for the top associations is only a fraction of what top-level sport receives:

The athletes

Anyone who throws 1,000 euros into this system must hope that a significant contribution will reach the athletes and trainers. Both groups have been complaining about financial bottlenecks and a lack of security for years and feel that the reforms have not sufficiently taken them into account.

The hope

Sports Minister Schenderlein does not come from sports, just like her department head Babette Kibele and the chairwoman of the Federal Sports Committee, Aydan Özoguz (SPD). This offers the opportunity to gain an outside perspective and to act consistently without being in cahoots. The poor result at the Winter Games further illustrates the need for action.

Many are also betting on the Olympic Games in Germany. A look at Great Britain, France or now Italy gives hope for more capital, motivation and medals, at least in the short term.

But, as advertised, this is not a success story. The Olympic application is expensive, an award is still a long way away and a possible Olympic frenzy could obscure the view of the essentials: scandalous conditions in associations (for example DESG and Modern Pentathlon) and an umbrella organization (DOSB) that stands idly by.

And the agency? It would only be a step forward if it significantly streamlined the system listed above – with serious savings in many institutions. If she doesn’t do that, she would only expand the braid unnecessarily. Because such an agency costs money, tax money.

In Berlin they are now writing the next episode in this sports promotion drama. Sequel follows.