Far too many construction sites (daily newspaper Junge Welt)

The so-called “corona cabinet” of the federal government regularly ignored sport during the pandemic. When the Health Committee of the Bundestag listened to experts on the amendment of the Infection Protection Act almost exactly a year ago, sport was not even at the table. During the pandemic, both the umbrella organization of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) and the ministers responsible for sports in the federal states and the Conference of Sports Ministers (SMK) as their permanent association were ignored by crisis management and Chancellor Angela Merkel – the lobbyists of sports, for their part, did little , in order to defend oneself or to make one’s voice heard properly. This is to change now. Hamburg’s responsible senator Andy Grote has learned lessons and invited to a “special SMK” in the Hanseatic city for April 7th and 8th, so that the sport gets “more perception” at the federal level. In the corona resolutions of the prime ministers’ conference, it “only came up briefly or not at all, and if it did, it was more of a risk factor,” said the SPD politician in retrospect. This does not do justice to the importance of sport in society, not least in this pandemic. The host expects “a signal to start” from the “Sonder-SMK”.

In the run-up to the special meeting, Grote kept quiet about what that meant in concrete terms jW justified with the current hardships of his department in taking in Ukrainian refugees. At least it is certain that the Federal Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, who is responsible for sports, will come to Hamburg. It would be good if the heads of departments of the federal states could agree on installing a permanent representation in the capital and in those places where “the music is playing” in terms of sports policy, following the example of the state sports federations (LSB). The joint LSB office near the Olympic Stadium will soon be relocating to the DOSB branch office in the capital. It would make sense if the conference of sports ministers were to open a small, agile office there as well, so that three important players could fight for the interests of sport united under one roof – not first of all for professional sport, mind you, which in 2020 and 2021 will be paid by politicians with amounts in the three-digit millions each was generously considered for crisis management and for which another 60 million will appear in the federal budget in 2022.

Sport belongs “higher on the political agenda,” said Andy Grote. “Sport must be given a stronger voice in Berlin,” emphasized Christoph Niessen, the managing director of the state sports association with the most members, that of North Rhine-Westphalia. For this, the DOSB, LSB and SMK need to formulate unambiguous announcements and goals together. What about, for example, the demand for a “state goal of sport”? Since the DOSB, when it was founded in 2006, suggested anchoring sport in the constitution as the largest and particularly valuable citizens’ movement, the debate on this has gradually died down. It is highly probable that “normal sport” would have been spared the constant ignorance of the past two years if its representatives had been able to rely on an “article on sport” in the Basic Law. At the same time, this status would be a helpful operational platform for the SMK and the LSB, because according to the law, sports facilities, for example, are exclusively a matter for the federal states and municipalities and only the federal states are responsible for children and youth sports. With this construct, the federal government is only required when it comes to the concerns of top-class sport for adults.

A constellation with plenty of unfavorable effects that could probably be communicated more effectively by the Brandenburg Sports Minister Britta Ernst to the Chancellery than by a “special SMK”. There are many questions and problems: How are the states supposed to clear the investment backlog of an estimated 31 billion euros in sports facilities without help from the federal government? How are sports associations supposed to build clever “pyramids” in competitive sports with constant consideration for the federalist little things among young people and talents? Why hasn’t it been possible so far to simply transfer travel allowances from the federal treasury to voluntary club boards, supervisors, trainers or referees, so that these eight million good spirits, who are indispensable for the overall operation, stay in sport and are kept happy? Why does each federal state have to try individually and on its own to get the shop going again after the corona-related slumps and to compensate for the loss of members as far as possible? Why not link this tour de force to a national programme?

There is plenty of material for the special conference of the SMK in Hamburg. Perhaps the department heads will also dare to tackle a topic for which they do not need the federal government at all, which they can handle completely on their own and which is currently one of the biggest construction sites: what is meant is the situation of school sports in the classroom, with all-day care and measures for inclusion . It is not only since yesterday that parents and pupils have been complaining that lessons are being canceled or that teachers who have little knowledge of the subject are being sent to the physical education lessons. Why do the countries shy away from a detailed analysis of their territory? Presumably because the state politicians’ fear of the result of such a test is greater than the will to bring about necessary changes.