Matti Heikkinen, who was chosen as the Olympic Committee’s top swimmer, received an athlete grant five times.
The grant system of Finnish top sports sparked a debate last week when Iltalehti reported how easy it is to withdraw the grant set behind the income limit, even if you have a high income.
For example, among the most popular athletes in Finland are Kerttu Niskanen and Krista Pärmäkoski have raised a grant of 20,000 euros while their companies have made a solid profit.
The new head of the Olympic Committee’s elite sports unit Matti Heikkinen is known as an advocate for the status of athletes.
Heikkinen, who won four prestigious medals in his career, received the grant himself five times. In the years 2009–11, Heikkinen was granted 15,000 euros per year and 20,000 euros in 2016 and 2017.
– The grant model is a very familiar model from everyday life there, Heikkinen commented on IL’s article.
– It is very clear from an athlete’s point of view. There are rules that act according to which an athlete can apply for a grant or not apply. Everyone makes that decision themselves.
Sports are valuable
Heikkinen says that it is only positive that someone engages in business activities during a sports career.
– Through that, tax revenue comes to society. It’s good that top sports can be done in Finland. It’s another matter when we think about instructions in the future, for example, what the final function of the entire support system will be.
Heikkinen states that future decision-making will be able to influence whether the support money is a reward for the work done or a support system.
– But this is a good public discussion about how it should go.
On a general level, Heikkinen thinks that Finland would take a quite different perspective compared to the rest of the world, if top sports were not supported from common funds.
– Sports inspire and increase people’s movement. It gives young people opportunities to test their limits in a safe environment and teaches the culture of working, which is a key issue.
– Not everyone becomes a top athlete, nor does it need to be, but there must be an opportunity to do it if there is internal motivation.
Matti Heikkinen knows exactly the system through which Kerttu Niskanen and Krista Pärmäkoski received a 20,000 euro tax-free grant. Henri Kärkkäinen