Latvian sports bodies agree six priorities for EU budget talks

Latvian sports organisations have joined forces to secure money for sport in the European Union’s next long-term budget, which covers 2028-2034. The first meeting of a national sports sector working group took place on Wednesday, 11 November, at the office of the Latvian Football Federation (LFF), where the members agreed a joint position and six priorities for talks with ministries and the government, the Latvian Olympic Committee (LOK) said.

The LOK and the LFF launched the initiative in Brussels in October. After meetings at the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Olympic Committees, sport was included in compromise wording on national and regional partnership plans. The next step is to get these principles into Latvia’s national position and the ministries’ investment plans.

Two sources of money

The first is Erasmus+, the EU’s education, youth and sport programme. The sports bodies are urging the government to back the European Parliament’s position in talks at the EU Council: to keep sport as a separate strand and to give it at least 4.1% of the programme’s budget of about €47.4 billion. The money pays for training coaches and specialists, international projects and exchanges of experience.

The second is cohesion, regional and rural development policy. Here the sector wants to show that investment in sports facilities and community activity also helps meet health, regional development, security and economic goals.

Six priorities

• Health and physical activity: more chances for people of all ages to exercise regularly.
• Social inclusion: fewer financial and physical barriers for vulnerable groups and people with disabilities.
• Education and skills: further training for coaches, referees and volunteers, and support for athletes’ dual careers.
• Regional development: renovating and building local, energy-efficient sports venues in towns and the countryside.
• Economy and tourism: competitions and training camps outside the tourist season.
• Resilience: sports venues that can be adapted to support residents in a crisis.

Raimonds Lazdiņš, the LOK president, said sport was increasingly seen in Europe as a strategic investment in health, security and the economy, but European rules alone were not enough. What matters is whether Latvian ministries write these opportunities into their planning documents in time, he said.

The working group will send a joint letter to the ministries, arrange meetings and collect specific investment needs, with costs and expected results, from each federation. The meeting was attended by the LOK, the LFF, the Latvian Council of Sports Federations and the judo, golf and motorsport federations. The Latvian Basketball Union, the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation and Aigars Nords, organiser of the Riga Marathon, have also joined the initiative.

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