The state talks about the importance of physical activity, but is literally chipping away at its stone foundation

The Ministry of Education and Culture (OKM), which is responsible for subsidies for elite sports and physical activity, has targeted the construction of sports facilities instead of sports organizations and educational institutions.

The aftermath has been ugly.

For this year, OKM allocated a total of 9.3 million euros for the construction of sports facilities, of which two million will still go to the basic improvement of the Olympic Stadium.

In addition, OKM allocated EUR 6 million to the Licensing and Control Agency for smaller projects with a cost estimate of less than EUR 1.2 million. In total, sports construction received 15.3 million euros.

The fall has been dramatic. The state aid pot has been halved in a few years.

Yet four years ago OKM allocated 18.6 million a for the construction of sports facilities, and 9.6 million for smaller projects through the regional administrative agencies.

In 2021, the whole pot was as much as 31 million euros.

Due to the savings, the number of subsidized sites has also collapsed. This year OKM granted money to 15 large projects, while in 2022 the support was enough for 23 projects.

Projects in Southern Finland alone received five million euros from OKM in 2022, now only 1.2 million.

The government the decision to cut sports construction is in a certain way a humane solution. Exercise and sports organizations have avoided major layoffs, and at the same time they have had time to prepare for additional cuts lurking around the corner.

Building walls has also been considered old-fashioned, but actually the cuts are now hitting ordinary Finns. The state’s subsidy money is used to build and renovate sports facilities for the entire nation.

This year, OKM’s assistance received, among others, the Lappeenranta swimming hall, the sports hall of the Karhula school center and the Joroinen sports hall.

With the smaller grants awarded by the Licensing and Supervision Agency, the municipalities have built, for example, outdoor gyms, artificial grass, fitness stairs and sports halls. Because of the savings, many good projects may not start.

The government there is a clear contradiction in operation. Swimming pools are falling into disrepair while the government blames millions on, for example, the Suomi liikkeille project. And the overlaps in the field of organizations have not been combed either.

High-quality sports venues inspire Finns to work up a sweat at Takuu more than top-down project hype or organization campaigns. Sports clubs that organize competitions and trainings also benefit from sports facilities.

Cuts are also poison for private sports construction. State aid has often been the decisive piece when a sports club or company has raised equity capital for its project.

In the future, the arena entrepreneurs will have to dig up a similar amount from somewhere else. It’s a tricky thing.

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