declining promotion
Handball President: Sport Germany in a “critical situation”
DHB President Andreas Michelmann sees German sport in a difficult situation. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
Is Germany still a sports nation? The successes are becoming less and less. Also because, unlike in other countries, financial resources continue to decrease. An association president sounds the alarm.
“I don’t know of any case where someone with less money, with less subsidy, is more successful than before. For the team sports associations, the greatest challenge is basically to get the funds that competitive sport needs in the increasingly narrow distribution scope. Sportdeutschland is located is currently in a critical situation,” said Michelmann in his capacity as spokesman for Teamsport Germany.
Teamsport Germany is an interest group of the five largest team sports associations, including the German Basketball Association, German Ice Hockey Association, German Football Association, German Handball Association and the German Volleyball Association.
Sports funding is expected to shrink
Michelmann assessed the expected shrinking of sports funding in the federal budget from 303 to 276 million euros as “very critical”. Through its coalition agreement, the government has committed itself to promoting sport at various levels. “A fundamentally very positive approach. In view of inflation, however, the reduction in sports funding is particularly difficult and of course inhibits initial optimism. For the sports associations, this will inevitably mean that priorities must also be set in the promotion of top-class sport, which may not everyone will like it,” said Michelmann. This development also worries him in view of the ongoing renovation backlog in German sports facilities.