The Olympic frenzy in this country also had a bad aftertaste when it came to the medal table. The long-standing discussion about the promotion of elite sports has been rekindled. A law for more sporting success is now to be introduced.
On some days of the Paris Olympic Games, the cheering in the German team was immense. They existed, those days shimmering in gold like that Saturday in August, when rowing giant Oliver Zeidler demonstrated his power in the single sculls and a little later the dressage team won a thriller. Or the last Friday of these games, when Darja Varfolomeev enchanted in the rhythmic gymnastics in the afternoon and Yemisi Ogunleye achieved sensational gold in the shot put in the evening. Moments for eternity.
However, the defeats in the medal fight as well as the sports and disciplines in which the starting list did not contain a single German are forever burned into the memory of sports history. And last but not least, the medal table: With twelve gold medals, 13 silver medals and eight bronze medals, the team from the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) came in tenth. Minimum goal achieved, but no more. The yield was not only lower than 2021 in Tokyo with 37 medals, but also worse than at all other summer games since reunification.
The discussions about top-class sport and its promotion, as well as the acceptance and value of top-class sport in society in this country, are not new, but they picked up speed again with the Olympic Games in Paris and have been increasingly in the public eye since then – and with that Struggle for a sports funding law and considerations of bringing the world event to Germany. This week is a crucial one in terms of sports policy.
One thing is certain: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to promote top-class sport more and in this way bring more German athletes back to the top in the world. “That is why we will be introducing a law to promote sports in the cabinet this week. The first time in Germany,” said the SPD politician in Berlin. Not only since the Summer Games in France has it been obvious that countries like France, the Netherlands and Great Britain are doing a lot better when it comes to promoting top-class sport.
Sports associations, politicians and athlete representatives have been debating a suitable sports funding law for a long time. This is intended to clearly stipulate the promotion of top-class sport independent of the respective federal government. The law is intended to provide greater planning security, reduce bureaucracy and ultimately improve the performance of athletes.
First draft revised, but criticism continues
The core of the Sports Promotion Act is the establishment of an independent sports agency. “We need an independent institution that decides unbureaucratically how funding is allocated based on sports criteria. Such a sports agency is in the interests of the athletes. She is in the spirit of trainers,” said Scholz.
After strong criticism from the DOSB and many sports associations, the Federal Ministry of the Interior revised a first draft of the Sports Promotion Act and presented it again in the summer. But this design also caused more than just enthusiasm.
“The new draft only results in a top sports agency light. According to the current legal status, the board of the future agency should be subject to too many influences from politics or administration,” the DOSB recently complained. Athlete representatives, alongside Athletes Germany, are also continuing to call for changes to the draft law, but also rate numerous approaches as positive and see the opportunity for a paradigm shift in the promotion of top-class sport.
Olympics added value for popular sports
Chancellor Scholz also once again spoke out in favor of bringing the Olympic Games to Germany. “It’s about time. There have been repeated attempts since Munich 1972. Next time, I think it should work now,” he said: “In 2040, Germany will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its reunification. There really couldn’t be a better occasion for games in Germany.”
The federal government officially cleared the way for a German Olympic bid in the summer. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) signed the basic agreement with the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the federal states and cities interested in applying at the Summer Games in Paris at the beginning of August. “So that the message is clear from the start: Politics is behind the Olympics in Germany,” said Scholz.
Faeser used Paris as an example to emphasize the added value of the Olympic Games for popular sports. “It has been introduced in France that all children in all schools will exercise for 30 minutes a day. A lot of money has flowed into sports facilities there,” emphasized the politician.
DOSB wants to decide the venue next year
On December 7th, the DOSB wants to decide on further steps at its general meeting in Saarbrücken. A German bid for the Olympics should finally be launched next year. The federal government wants to contribute a total of 6.95 million euros to the application costs by 2027.
Next year they want to name a venue and complete the application process, said DOSB President Thomas Weikert. “Others can take part, but we have to name a city or a region and we cannot spread it across the whole of Germany,” said the 62-year-old, referring to the requirements of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
A series of German applications have been unsuccessful since 1986, also because citizens were against it – for example in the effort to hold the Winter Games in 2022 with Munich and the Summer Games in 2024 with Hamburg.
with dpa
