The German Olympic Sports Confederation counts the reversal of the cuts in federal funding for elite sport in 2024 as a success of its “Sport is added value” campaign.
“We are pleased that our criticism, which we have formulated clearly and loudly in recent months, has been heard and improvements have been achieved,” said a statement on the resolutions of the Bundestag Budget Committee. The government draft envisaged savings of ten percent of the funding of around 303 million euros.
At the budget committee’s adjustment meeting on Thursday in Berlin, the preliminary decision was made that the elite sports budget would remain at a similar level to that for 2023. The desire for more money for preparation for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris was also taken into account. 1.8 million euros were approved for this.
New requirements for sports agencies
The budget politicians did not agree with the construct of the sports agency, the core of the planned competitive sports reform. The householders reduced the funds requested for this from 600,000 to 200,000 euros and at the same time imposed a spending ban. It should only be lifted once a number of conditions have been met. This includes the requirement that the federal government and the Bundestag must have a majority of votes in the agency committees as well as the corresponding options for influence and control.
“An important hurdle has been overcome for the further development of top-class sports funding in Germany. The budget committee has decided to launch the sports agency,” said the DOSB announcement. “It is understandable that the Bundestag places demands on the implementation and the concept.”