A billion crowns on sport - the state seeks a guide to its allocation

Zdroj: Hospodárske noviny, Mira Sojková

About a billion crowns is divided among several sports organization every year. The only criterion today is achieved results. State officers, members of parliament and representatives of sports unions claim- the rules of financing need to be changed. “The present system of financing doesn’t work,“ urges the head of Slovak Sport Union and ex-coach of the Slovak ice-hockey national team Jan Filc. The new sport act, which should be passed to the Cabinet by the Minister of Education Martin Fronc by the end of June brings changes into the system of financing. The first deadline was 30th April. However, the draft law is not in the interdepartmental process of comments yet. It already has its opponents.

Sport Act

“The act is already prepared, there are just technical details to be accorded,” claims Monika Murova, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Education. The draft should cover several areas including financing, the status of professional athlete, voluntary activities, accreditation of educational activities in sport and anti-doping activities. “Some authority related to the financing will be passed to sports organizations,” added Stanislav Kosorin, the general director of the sport department in the Ministry of Education. The new draft states that the money will be divided by the Agency for Sport that will be a part of the Ministry of Education. Representatives of national sport federations will control the Agency as well. Filc does not object, he just claims that in this case all state grants should be distributed by the Agency. ”In the same time it should perform entrepreneurial activities.” According to J. Filc, this will motivate private entrepreneur to sponsorship, which is actually hindered by the present legislation.

The team around M. Dzurinda

The team of experts around the Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda offers its own solution (that includes financing of sport as well). The project is called Removing barriers, development and popularization of sport in the Slovak Republic. “However, our project is designed in a different way, it offers a solution to the sport issue from the wider extent, we are both touching the issue of state money, financing preferred sports departments from state resources” explained Jozef Tokos. According to him, state money should be primarily divided among 10 to 15 selected sports. We should not support sport bodies but sport activities. The most of the money should be divided through public competitions. Tokos refuses the affirmation that activities of his team interfere with the authority of the Ministry of Education. “ The discussion with the authors of the act helps to avoid potential disagreements. The Prime Minister seems to be really interested in this issue.

No chance

Martin Fronc, presenting the new draft law, could meet resistance in the parliament. “He has no chance,” claim both Stanislav Kropilak (ANO) and Dusan Caplovic (Smer), members of the Parliamentary Committee for Education. Moreover, Dusan Caplovic is preparing his own draft law of sport. “Sport should be financed from some part of lotteries’ revenue that would be divided by experts without personal intentions.” The present Act on gambling says that all the money from lotteries goes to the state budget. An independent Member of Parliament states that it is too late to introduce a sport financing reform, it should have been done in the first two years of term. ”We should exclude all organizations that are receiving money at the expense of sportsmen”.

Foot-fault in financing of sport

Slovak skiing association
The department of Finance found out that during years 1999 to 2003 the association broke several laws: didn’t use the method o public procurement, didn’t conduct accounting procedures in the legal way and money from state grants went to an entrepreneurial account. The state should have lost more than 70 billion Slovak crowns. Julius D., chairman of the union at that time, was accused of breaking the trade rules. The association has not received a state grant for 2 years and is obliged to pay back about 200 million crowns.

Slovak Football Union
The inspection discovered breaking laws, the inconsistency reached 30 million Slovak crowns, the penalty is about 270 000 crowns.

Slovak Hockey Union
The anti-corruption office stopped a criminal prosecution against the union that was suspected of dafraudation in 1997- 1998.

SK Slovan Bratislava- debt more than 250 million crowns
In 2004 special corps closed the entrance of the settlement of SK Slovan and stadium as well. The reason should have been inconsistency in the accounting of this most popular football club in Slovak Republic. The criminal prosecution continues, there are no concrete accused so far. During the era of Jan Ducky this club was financing SPP. Other well-known persons connected with the name of Slovan are entrepreneurs Jozef Svoboda and Peter Congrady, both murdered. Police designated them as influential mobsters.