Even more mess in sports on the horizon!
Published in SME daily
We, the grateful residents of Horné Plachtince, would like to thank the Government Office of the Slovak Republic for the set of basketballs, volleyballs, and handballs. The civic association Oravský atlét near Dolný Kubín is thrilled that, thanks to the government office, it was able to organize the first edition of the Night Bend Run. Fero, as a legitimate applicant for a grant, is delighted that money was also found for a project to make use of the bumpy pitch in his home village.
What absurdities is the author describing? As has lately become the rule with sports-related topics, last Wednesday our government had another “brilliant” moment. It approved an amendment to the law that would allow the Government Office itself to provide grants for sports. No one bothered to publish the results of the public comment procedure online. All in the spirit of the new Olympic slogan: “We’re going for it!”, which the government confirmed a few weeks ago—without any financial analysis. That’s apparently unnecessary for now. And just like that, tens of millions for regional football stadiums were suddenly “found.”
Sport in Slovakia involves multiple ministries. The Ministry of Education is the central body for state sports administration. The Ministries of Interior and Defense operate their own departmental sports centers. Up to now, the Government Office has also financed sports through the sacred right of every prime minister—his reserve fund. Both of Fico’s governments also established a government advisory body—the Government Plenipotentiary for Sport. According to its statute, this office is supposed to perform activities that are already part of the Ministry of Education’s responsibilities: drafting policy papers, particularly on sports infrastructure; analyzing the application of sports legislation; and proposing legislative changes. It’s also tasked with reviewing what others come up with—other ministries, local governments, and the sports movement. Although the current setup creates overlaps in authority and tasks, the cross-sectoral nature of sport might justify the plenipotentiary’s existence—if only the office were producing publicly useful outcomes.
The government’s newly approved plan to distribute grants in parallel to the Ministry of Education actually goes a step further than the current state: these grants for regional sports are not tied to youth activities. They could go to, say, clubs where only pot-bellied men in their fifties play. The Ministry of Education hasn’t supported such groups in years.
Other measures approved in the amendment are also things the state should never be funding with taxpayer money under any circumstances. But the Government Office will now be able to support regional or even local sporting events, events of lower-tier competitions, the purchase of sports equipment, or projects aimed at building, maintaining, and using sports infrastructure, primarily (but not exclusively) for children and youth. In a country guided by common sense, all of these would be funded by local and regional governments—and, of course, our own wallets. For all such projects, creating objective criteria to be assessed by a government commission will be nearly impossible.
What should the state actually fund in sport? Physical education and extracurricular sport for children and youth in schools, ideally through sports vouchers, as well as school sports competitions. Also, national representation, talented youth, and nationally significant infrastructure, all awarded through open competition. Major events with long-standing tradition might be submitted directly to the government. Beyond that, only awareness campaigns, anti-doping, and a few other cross-cutting activities. Nothing more. And where should the money come from? Ideally, a single ministry. If that’s not possible, then at least the inclusion of funding from the Ministries of Interior and Defense into the total pool, distributed according to clear, transparent criteria. If that’s still politically unfeasible, then at least apply uniform selection criteria for athletes in those departmental sports centers. Even this basic minimum is not being met in Slovakia today.
It’s unlikely that the amendment will face any surprising developments in parliament. A message to all athletes who might be getting their hopes up: this money didn’t fall from the sky onto the Government Office, and it’s not extra. It’s within the already approved spending limits for the current budget year. It will be missing from the education sector, which is currently finalizing its own model for sports funding. That model retains a slightly adjusted version of the past system, based on measurable criteria (such as success, the social importance of the sport, and the size of its youth base).
The government’s 20-year sports strategy, approved last December, makes no mention of government office grants, district-level football stadiums, or the Olympics. A sigh to end on: even in sport, central government is capable of producing contradictory outputs just weeks apart. First, it approves a dry strategy document, and then it breezily adopts unrelated new documents or legal amendments. For example, when it's necessary to come up with more ways to hand out grants.
