The national sports budget in Latvia in 2026 will be 52 million euros, on the Baltic scale, ranking in the middle between Lithuania, which has planned to spend 79 million euros on sports, and Estonia, where 49 million euros are planned. It is true that both Baltic neighbors have increased their sports budget by six million euros compared to 2025, while Latvia has reduced it by four million euros.
IN BRIEF:
The largest item of expenditure in Lithuania is high-class sports, which also includes support mechanisms in youth sports. The ministry in charge of the industry explained that the budget has mostly grown at the expense of funding for sports infrastructure, and that the construction of infrastructure is the current priority in Lithuanian sports. On the other hand, 15 million euros are earmarked for physical activities, which includes a swimming training program at school, which still does not exist in Latvia, and various folk sports events. On the other hand, nine million euros are earmarked for institutions subordinate to the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, including the National Sports Agency, which administers finances.
Distribution of the state sports budget in Lithuania in 2026
The general secretary of the Lithuanian Swimming Association, Justus Kalinauskas, explained that the openness of the system ensures proper transparency.
“We have a good example of governance with the establishment of the National Sports Agency in Lithuania. The funding applications submitted by all federations are public – basically, the federations check each other. The evaluation commission, on the other hand, is neutral and does not include representatives of organizations,” stated Kalinausks.
In Latvia, the documents submitted by sports federations for requesting state budget funds are not publicly available.
The Lithuanian National Sports Agency will be transformed on January 1, 2026 – it will turn into a sports council, thus promoting greater involvement of non-governmental sports organizations and federations in financial decision-making. In addition, such discussions on the national sports budget would be proactive – they would take place before the adoption of the budget and reduce the risk of disagreements between organizations after the adoption of the budget.
Lithuania’s Deputy Minister of Sports Giedrjus Gribausks emphasized that the goal is to create a system where the decision would be made collectively.
“We want such a board system, not that one person decides the budget, but as a board with representatives from all interested parties,” explained Gribausks.
Lithuanians have decided to follow the path that Latvia refused a couple of years ago, when the Ministry of Education and Science undertook to develop the criteria for awarding state funding and evaluate the submitted data.
Sports financing from the state budget in the Baltic States in 2026 (in millions of euros)
On the other hand, the largest funding in the Estonian sports budget is intended for sports federations and the Estonian Olympic Committee.
The subsidy for trainers’ wages is the second largest item, which is almost 20 million euros less than in Latvia. Contrary to Latvia, Estonians have already earmarked nine million euros in the basic sports budget for the organization of international sports events. In Latvia, such funding is usually found from contingency funds. The grant to the “Audentes” sports gymnasium is almost identical – it receives the same funding as the Murjaņu Sports Gymnasium in Latvia, but is much more modern.
It is the development of young talents that is currently the hottest topic of discussion in Estonian sports, as it has been decided to exclude young people from the Estonian Olympic team and leave their development in the hands of the federations.
Distribution of the national sports budget in Estonia in 2026
The Vice President of the Estonian Olympic Committee, Gerd Kanter, pointed out the gaps in the current system.
“In total, the best young athletes received 500 euros per month, as well as 300 euros per month for the athlete’s coach, so a total of 800 euros per month. However, since the amounts were tied to words, in the event that the federation held a training camp for young people, the federation could not use this money and needed additional money,” Kanter explained.
A similar system was tried in Latvia a few years ago, but due to the dishonesty of several federations, it was unprofitable for a number of athletes, so it was canceled, and now athletes receive funding directly. Kanter is also aware of the risks, admitting that the fairness of the federations towards the athletes will play a decisive role in the functioning of the new system.
Olympic champion and athletics coach Erki Nols predicts that the money intended for young people will be used for other purposes by the federation.
“At the moment, I am 100% sure – if the Olympic Committee gives this money to the federations, they will gradually take the youth money for themselves to use it elsewhere. For example, for travel expenses to the world, European championships, training camps,” Noll said.
Nols considers channeling finances to the clubs represented by the athletes, rather than to the federations, to be a more effective solution. A year ago, the president of the Estonian Olympic Committee was Kersti Kaljulaida, who is the former president of the country, and the vice president is another Olympic champion in athletics, Gerds Kanter. Nol is very critical of the new management, pointing to the lack of dialogue between the Estonian Olympic Committee and the rest of the sports industry.
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