“With the strategic objective of asserting Portugal in the international sports context, promoting excellence in sports and improving the Olympic and Paralympic preparation programs”, the government presented this Friday a package of measures for the post-career, a problem recognized by all involved in elite sport . The idea is not to lose talent due to lack of guarantees for a future after the end of a sports career.
Olympic, Paralympic and top athletes will now have a 5% share in public administration after their sports career has ended. The diploma project presented by the Secretary of State for Sport, João Paulo Correia, who gives an interview to DN today, during meetings with the civil service unions to which DN had access, also provides for tax exemptions, post-career financial support and academic enhancement. The project will go into effect 10 days after publication.
The introduction of a system of public employment quotas of 5% when the number of vacancies is equal to or greater than 15. In cases where the number of vacancies is equal to or greater than three and less than 15, the contracting authority may set a quota determine a place to be occupied by the athletes.
“Be at least eight consecutive or interpolated years” is one of the requirements for athletes to apply “procurement procedures aimed at entering into open-ended public employment contracts” either in departments and bodies of central, regional and local government, including public institutions and security forces, including the civilian card of the armed forces.
In 2022, and already after judoka Jorge Fonseca (bronze medal in Tokyo 2020) publicly announced that he had not been accepted into the PSP entrance competitions, Sports Embassy founder Inês Caetano published an open letter of support of over 200 athletes requesting post-career measurements.
Athletes also benefit from a five-year increase in the statutory competition age limit for admission to special public administration professions, as proposed in the document. Anyone who has complied with sanctions for anti-doping rule violations or has been subject to a disciplinary penalty or suspension from all sporting functions within the past five years will be disqualified from the outset.
Temporary reintegration grant helped 29 former athletes in 10 years
A “temporary reintegration grant” is also provided for top athletes “who have joined the Olympic or Paralympic project continuously or alternately for a minimum of six years”. If they have medaled at the Olympic or Paralympic Games, the monthly grant is “equivalent to one month for each semester, capped at 36 months”, and for those who have completed a degree “one month for each semester, with a maximum of 24 months”. In other cases one month per semester, with a maximum of 16 months.
The scholarship and contributions are supported by the Portuguese Institute of Sport and Youth. Asked about this, even before the government presented the proposal, the organization led by Vítor Pataco clarified that the Temporary Reintegration Grant (STR) is a post-career support measure for top athletes, enshrined in Article 39 of the decree. 272/2009 of 1 October.
Until now, an athlete had to deliver top performance for at least eight years to be entitled to the subsidy, that time has now been reduced to six years. Currently, only eight former high-performance practitioners benefit from support, and one application is still being analyzed, out of a total of 29 over the past 10 years. In 2022, the IPDJ distributed 55 thousand euros to support this type of support for former athletes.
Source: DN
