The Sports Promotion Act has cleared another hurdle. The federal government approved the draft on Wednesday. This is a milestone for Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser: She recognizes “the importance of promoting top-class sport for us as a society”. The reactions from the sport, on the other hand, range from blame to sheer incomprehension.
The President of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, Thomas Weikert, praised “another important step”, but the DOSB is still not satisfied. “All that glitters is not gold,” explained the sports umbrella organization and criticized: “The federal government is still not taking advantage of all the opportunities for flexibility and de-bureaucratization that are available to it.”
Among other things, the DOSB believes that “fixed amount financing” is still urgently needed – in the draft, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) points out that the distribution should be made “within the available budget resources”. The 331 million euros planned by the BMI as funding from 2025 are not set in stone.
The athletes demand permanent representation on the board of trustees
The latest draft is also met with resistance from independent athletes in Germany. The athletes’ association is calling for more say in athlete representation and a right to social security for all federal squad athletes as anchored in law. “That’s not enough,” complains the athletes’ representatives: “In order for everyone to win, the people whose achievements are at the center of the sports system must be strengthened.”
The mood in the professional association of trainers in German sport is at its lowest point. The trainers, who form the medal winners, continued to receive no appreciation. “The BMI has still not recognized the signs of the times,” it said in a statement, adding that the ministry’s legal opinion was “scandalous.”
It remains to be seen to what extent the critical voices will be heard and the draft will be adapted. The law is expected to be passed by parliament by the summer of 2025, meaning the traffic light coalition would fulfill its inaugural promise shortly before the end of the legislative period. The core feature of the Sports Funding Act is “funding from a single source”. The central body is to be an independent top sports agency, staffed by representatives from organized sports and politics. An 18-member board of trustees appoints the board, which carries out the committee’s decisions. Due to the number of people on the board of trustees, politicians as donors have the last word in cases of hardship.
The clearly formulated goal: more medals at the Olympic Games and international championships. In addition, values and integrity should also be anchored in the law as funding requirements. The BMI has been working on the law with organized sport for two years. It is a further important step in the efforts to organize the Olympic Games in Germany and “increasing top-level sports funding next year by 50 million euros to make top-level sports even better positioned,” said Faeser.
