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Sustainability

Public support for sport organisations continues to remain an essential facet of sport policy at the EU level

Sporting organisations, especially at grassroots level, find themselves in a complex and changeable financial situation. While some sport organisations are economically self-sufficient, for most of them public support remains essential. This presents a number of opportunities and challenges for local sporting organisations.

The EU work plan

The EU Work Plan for Sport identifies economic aspects of sport – including innovation in sport and the digital single market – that will be priorities. Through the work plan, the Commission aims to build a secure and sustainable future for sport via focusing on the following aspects of public and private financing:

  • Developments in other policy fields (e.g. competition law, State Aid rules, Internal Market provisions, common VAT scheme) that can impact on financing of the sport sector
  • EU financial instruments (programmes and funds) that can provide funding for the sport sector and its activities
  • The exchange of best practices between different organisations and Member States

The future of EU sport funding

The Commission has concluded a number of studies investigating how sport could be better financed, including a study on the financing of grassroots sport and sport for all in the Member States, as well as a communication on sport that addressed the redistribution of revenue derived from professional sports to lower levels of the sport chain.

Further, the informal EU Working Group on Non-Profit Sport Organisations addressed a number of topical issues relating to the financing of grassroots sport, including gambling services, State Aid, VAT and procurement.

Finally, the Preparatory Actions in the field of sport contributed to the exchange of good practices in sport, particularly at grassroots level. A Policy paper on the mapping of smart specialisation strategies for sport was prepared in the framework of the SHARE Initiative  (SportHub: Alliance for Regional development in Europe).

The Erasmus+ programme contributes to the exchange of good practices in sport, particularly at grassroots level.

Tagged in:  Sport & Economy