Sports require 300 million additional supports

In total, the sport now receives 120 million Swedish kronor, compared to the previous 80 million Swedish kronor that was distributed to support sports activities that have suffered financial losses as a result of the pandemic. The sports support is part of the additional revised budget presented by the government on Monday and applies to the first quarter of 2022.

Money is meant to compensate for the losses that result from the new restrictions. But the support is very low, according to the RF. The union is asking for an additional 300 million Swedish kronor in compensation support for the January-March period.

“The sports movement has once again been hit hard by restrictions and must be compensated. The government’s announcement today that the sports movement is given 40 million in compensation is not enough,” RF Chairman Björn Eriksson says in a press release.

If the pandemic restrictions are extended, the RF expects the economic impact to reach around SEK 700 million during the first quarter of the year.

“It is important that the SEK 400 million support promised by the sports movement to resume in 2022 should also go to restarting children’s and youth sports and not be forced to use it to save elite activities and compensate for major events,” says Bjorn Eriksson.

190 million Swedish kronor has also been allocated to the e-Health Authority, which is responsible for handling vaccination certificates.

The budget also proposes expanded event support, which can be paid for at events canceled due to restrictions. This type of support requires European Commission approval.