Thomas Koehler/photothek/imago
Inauguration of a football field in the township of Winterveld in South Africa (June 23, 2010)
When it comes to weapons, no price seems too high. This country is heading for a new record in arms exports this year, but aid for sports represents a negligible amount in terms of foreign policy. Of course, Annalena Baerbock is traveling around the world again in her remaining days as Foreign Minister until the federal elections on February 23rd to protect German security interests. However, the spending of the “remaining government” on clever sports diplomacy falls short of the smallest fingernail. This aid for poorer and developing countries is to be reduced to 6.16 million euros next year. That’s just 0.06 percent of its total budget, according to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
In the current year, its budget called for expenses of 9.13 million euros, last year it was 8.58 million and in 2022 it would be 11.76 million euros. The already ridiculous 0.09 percent for sport and its impact on peace and international understanding will therefore be almost halved in four years. The BMZ uses the “sport for development” approach as an instrument for “development policy” goals – including education, gender equality, employment, health as well as social cohesion and peace development, for example in the context of flight and migration, according to the federal government’s lofty response October in response to a small request from the Left group in the Bundestag.
The contradiction between word and deed in the Foreign Office (AA) is also fatal. This uses measures from the International Sports Funding (ISF) as an “instrument to support foreign policy interests,” it was reported. 1.8 million euros should be available for this next year. This corresponds to 0.03 percent of the AA budget. In the current year, 2.9 million euros are earmarked for this. In 2023, the Foreign Office spent 1.75 million euros on international sports aid, the year before 1.69 million euros – in four years, over one legislative period a total of 8.14 million euros – about as much as an annual salary of a talented Bundesliga footballer.
“The potential of sport is not being used enough by the federal government in its development cooperation and foreign policy,” says André Hahn, sports policy spokesman for the Left group in the Bundestag, commenting on the embarrassing ministerial self-disclosure in a surprisingly good-natured manner. “In my opinion, the Federal Government’s efforts to adequately take the inclusion and participation of people with disabilities into account on this issue are insufficient.” According to Hahn, the BMZ must take action here, also with a view to the “Global Disability Summit” taking place on June 2nd April 3, 2025 in Berlin, “finally take action”.
