IN SHORT:
- In Estonia, the highest scholarship for an outstanding athlete can reach 4,000 euros per month
- In Lithuania, state support for basketball players is considered an expression of equality for all sports
- In the Netherlands, in the distribution of public finances, sports with higher medal potential are always preferred, the importance of public good is increasing
- Countries with effective sports systems do more with less funding, a study in Belgium finds
The new arrangement will increase social guarantees for LOV athletes, and they will also be more protected against unexpected decisions to withhold or withdraw funding. Members of LOV’s highest – Gold – squad will receive 1,450-2,000 euros per month, and their coaches 800-1,850 euros per month.
In Latvia, elite athletes are divided into Gold, Silver and Bronze based on their results, while in Estonia there are four levels of support. The most prestigious A-level scholarship is twice as large as in Latvia and varies between 2,500-4,000 euros, while coaches of elite athletes are entitled to 1,800 euros. Some medalists of the Olympic Games, as well as winners of the European Championships, receive the highest A scholarship. B and C scholarships are smaller in Estonia, but support of 250 euros per month is available for young athletes or level D. However, in Estonia, after the Paris Olympic Games, they plan to narrow the range of youth scholarships, raising the age limit from 14 to 18 years.
The goal of Estonians is to keep young people in professional sports with funding even after reaching adulthood, when usually many stop playing professional sports.
Meanwhile, elite athletes in Lithuania are financed by the state-supervised National Sports Agency. 189 athletes receive monthly allowances from 735 to 2,793 euros, and in contrast to Latvia, almost a third of the recipients are basketball players.
The director of the Lithuanian National Sports Agency, Mindaugas Shpoks, emphasized that equality is manifested in this way, because basketball players are also athletes. Athletes can choose, accept or be eligible for a scholarship.
The agency cites the basketball federation as a positive example of attracting private funding. Sports federations in Lithuania must attract at least 5% of their budget from sponsors. At the same time, the agency emphasizes the essential importance of Olympic medals in the long-term plans of the federations.
“In the next Olympic year, there will be at least 10-20% more grants for federations, however, we want to clarify one thing. Bonuses will be given to those federations that focus on achievements in the Olympic Games, and not just doing the usual work,” said Mindaugs Shpoks.
The director of the sports agency revealed that
In Lithuania, similarly to Finland and the Netherlands, they plan to set an annual income threshold of 200,000 euros, beyond which athletes will not be able to get a state scholarship.
Currently, 62% of elite athletes in the Netherlands receive a state monthly stipend, which is a minimum salary of up to 2,123 euros. However, every fifth Dutch elite athlete also earns in a private club.
“If we look at finance, we can see what we call the global sports medal arms race, which keeps growing and growing,” said Jan Willem van der Roest, associate professor at Utrecht University. “We see more competition between countries and notice that this increased competition is related to the increase in investment in elite sports.”
The professor believes that private funding will play an increasingly important role in elite sports. At the same time, a national initiative has been launched in the Netherlands in recent years, inviting top athletes to set an example in schools and lead inspiring lessons. Van der Roest added that
the country still emphasizes sports with a higher chance of winning medals, however, there is a shift in the direction of the public good in the Netherlands.
Belgian researcher Wehrle de Beaucher created an international network in elite sports research 20 years ago, covering more than 20 countries on four continents. The main goal of the research is to find out the most effective approach to achieving success.
“There is a direct connection between money and medals – more money means more medals,” emphasized Wehrle de Boschere, associate professor of the Free University of Brussels. “We hate to hear it, but it’s true. Countries with more funding also have more medals.”
The professor’s research concluded that, firstly, funding determines success, but does not guarantee it, and secondly, countries with an effective sports system do more with less funding. Thirdly, promoting people’s sports and talent development are not always short-term priorities, but can provide long-term competitive advantages.
“If earlier countries were thinking about how we can win more medals, now countries are also thinking about why we should win more medals, why it is important for society to win more medals,” explained Wörle de Boschere.
An important cornerstone in the development of elite sports is the promotion of youth and popular sports.
If there is mass formation, then some jewel in high-achievement sports will also appear. Foreign researchers have concluded that it is possible to temporarily invest in the Olympic champion’s popularity, but in the long term it is important to think about the succession and the general mass of people engaged in sports.
In the Netherlands, this realization was really brought to life only in 1995, when speed skater Rintje Ritsma, due to the great popularity of the sport, signed a contract with private companies and voluntarily refused direct state funding. The extent of Latvian sports cannot be compared with the possibilities of Belgium and the Netherlands, but there are also several bright athletes who have learned how to attract supporters and address large masses of people.
Although private sector financing appeared in Dutch sports already in the 80s of the last century, it was in 1995, after the speed skater Ritsma left the usual sports structure and concluded a sponsorship agreement, that the popularity of private financing in Dutch sports began.
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2024-04-08 10:12:39
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