Funding for sport in 2022 amounted to 162.6 million euros (ME). According to the figures of the Cabinet of Secretary of State and Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, the amount is ten million euros higher than in 2021, if you do not take into account the €12.9 million allocated under the Reactivate Sport program, in response to the downturn in activity in the sector due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The state finances the federations through the Instituto Português da Juventude, with 49.7 million. Athletics received as much support as football and volleyball received more support than handball. Two of the three modalities that have brought Portugal the most Olympic medals, judo and canoeing, fell behind modalities such as gymnastics and skating or cycling. The budget that causes the greatest confusion is that of canoeing, which has only the 15th budget of the 59 supported federations. The culprit is the funding law, which is based on the number of federated practitioners and allows motorcycling, tennis or triathlon to exceed the canoe funds (698 thousand euros).
That is exactly what Fernando Pimenta criticized in an interview with Diário de Notícias, last October: “Canoeing is not easy to practice and with fewer practitioners means less visibility and less support. The federations receive a greater number of practitioners and fewer members who canoeing. receives less support. This is a policy that in itself is not in the interest of strong competition. If a federation registers athletes left and right to have support.. we now have practitioners non-practitioners. compensation is on merit and purpose, and that’s the only way we’re going to be competitive.”
The largest investment was in football/indoor football and amateur beach football, with the Portuguese Football Federation receiving €3.3 million. Professional football is outside the sphere of direct support from the state and the championships of the I and II leagues are organized by Liga Portugal. The modalities under the auspices of the FPF received 100 thousand euros more than athletics, of which the federation received 3.2 million. The value of athletics reflects an inconsistent rise and fall. If in 2019 the modality that brought Portugal the most Olympic medals (including the five Olympic champions in history) was the most supported with 3.5 million, in 2020 and 2021 it remained at three million, and last year it rose again.
The budget for handball was the highest ever, more than the 2.9 million. The modality whose roster has shone and made history in Europe and worldwide and an unprecedented presence at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games surpasses volleyball and basketball in funding. The Portuguese Swimming Federation was the fourth most funded last year and also set a new maximum (2.6 million).
Fight against doping and violence in football strengthened
Most of the investment came from sports betting. Online gambling budgets have increased astonishingly in recent years. Taking into account the published figures, the State has channeled 62.6 million euros to the federations/entities as a result of the online game and scoreboard, an amount 28 times higher than the amount recorded in 2015, when 2.2 million were distributed by only four entities (Liga Portugal and the football, tennis and basketball federations). Today, betting feeds 22 entities, with football focusing bettors’ attention, in a total pool of 47 million (12.6 million for professional football and 34.6 million for non-professional football).
Allocations have been increased for the fight against doping and violence in sport. The Anti-Doping Authority of Portugal (ADoP) received 1.3 million euros in 2022, an amount higher than the years 2021 and 2020, in which the amount barely exceeded one million euros. The Authority for the Prevention and Combating of Violence in Sport (APCVD) also saw values strengthened. The authority received just over one million, up from around 600,000 in the year after its creation (2019). Implementing the ill-fated fan card cost taxpayers about €20,000.
Information about the investment in has been released by Ana Catarina Mendes’ office dated Monday, in formal response to questions from 14 PS parliamentarians questioning the development of funding for sports over the past four years, between 2019 and 2019 and 2022 and confirms the growth trend, after the break in the two years most affected by the pandemic (2020 and 2021), with values slightly higher than in 2019 (pre-pandemic).
Source: DN
